Jim and Mary McCartney
Encyclopedia
James "Jim" McCartney (7 July 1902 – 18 March 1976) and Mary Patricia McCartney (née Mohin) (29 September 1909 – 31 October 1956) were the parents of musician, author and artist Paul McCartney
of The Beatles
and Wings
, and photographer and musician Mike McCartney
, who worked with The Scaffold
.
Like many families in Liverpool, the McCartney and Mohin families are of Irish
descent. Jim worked for most of his life in the cotton
trade, as well as playing in ragtime
and jazz
bands in Liverpool
, while Mary was a trained nurse and midwife.
The McCartney family lived in council house
s during Mary's life, but Paul later bought his father a house called Rembrandt, in Heswall
, Cheshire
. Jim encouraged his two sons to take up music by buying instruments for them to learn, as well as improving their status in life through education. Mary was Paul's inspiration for the song, "Let It Be
". After Mary’s death, Jim married Angela Williams and adopted her daughter from a previous marriage, Ruth McCartney
.
roots, as Jim's great-grandfather, James McCartney (an upholsterer) was born in Ireland, but it was previously unknown where Jim's grandfather, James McCartney II, was born. New evidence found in Scottish archives suggests that James McCartney moved with his family (including James McCartney II) from Ireland to Galloway
, Scotland, around 1859, before moving south and settling in Liverpool.
James II (a plumber and painter) married Elizabeth Williams in 1864, in Liverpool. The pair were both under-age when they were wed, but found a place to live together in Scotland Road. Jim's father, Joseph "Joe" McCartney (born 23 November 1866) was a tobacco-cutter by trade when he married Florence "Florrie" Clegg (born 2 June 1874) in the Christ Church, Kensington, Liverpool, on 17 May 1896. Joe never drank alcohol, went to bed at 10 o’clock every night, and the only swear word he used was ‘Jaysus’. Florrie was known as "Granny Mac" in the neighbourhood and was often consulted when families had problems.
Mary's father was born in Tullynamalrow, County Monaghan
, Ireland, in 1880, as Owen Mohan, but permanently changed his name to Mohin when he was at school to avoid confusion with many other pupils with the same surname. After moving to Liverpool, he worked as a coalman
, and married Mary Theresa Danher from Toxteth Park
, at St. Charles Roman Catholic Church, on 24 April 1905.
Jim was born at 8 Fishguard Road, Everton, Liverpool and was the third eldest of seven children. The McCartney children were John (Jack), Edith, James (Jim), Ann, Millie, Jane (Jin) and Joe (who was named after a brother who died in infancy). Joe and Florrie McCartney moved shortly after Jim's birth to 3 Solva Street in Everton, which was a run-down terraced house
about three-quarters of a mile from the Liverpool city centre, where Jim attended the Steers Street Primary School off Everton Road. After leaving school at 14, Jim found work for six shillings a week as a cotton "sample boy", at A. Hanney & Co.; a cotton broker in Chapel Street, Liverpool. Jim's job entailed running up and down Old Hall Street with large bundles of cotton that had to be delivered to cotton brokers or merchants in various salesrooms. He worked ten-hour days, five days a week, although he received a bonus at Christmas that was almost double his annual salary
.
When World War II
started Jim was too old to be called up for active service, as well as having previously been disqualified on medical grounds after falling from a wall and smashing his left eardrum
when 10-years-old. After the cotton exchange closed for the duration of the war, Jim worked as an inspector at Napier's
engineering works, which made shell cases that were later filled with explosives. He volunteered to be a fireman at night and often watched Liverpool burning from his rooftop observer's position. Between 1940 and 1942, Liverpool endured 68 air-raids, which killed or injured more than 4,500 of the population and destroyed more than 10,000 homes. After the war he worked as an inspector for Liverpool Corporation's Cleansing Department before returning to the cotton trade in 1946.
Jim avidly read the Liverpool Echo
or Express, liked solving crosswords and instigated discussions about varied subjects. His attitude to life was based upon self-respect, perseverance, fairness and a strong work ethic. His political views were far from left-wing
, as he insisted that there was nothing anyone could do about the situation the working classes were in at the time, and nothing would ever change.
62-year-old Jim was earning £10 a week in 1964, but Paul suggested that his father should retire, and bought "Rembrandt"; a detached mock-Tudor house in Baskervyle Road, Heswall, Cheshire, for £8,750. Paul bought Jim a horse called "Drake’s Drum", and a couple of years later, the horse won the race immediately preceding the Grand National
.
Jim died of bronchial pneumonia
on 18 March 1976. His second wife, Angela McCartney (née Williams) said that his last words were "I’ll be with Mary soon." Jim died two days before a Wings European tour, and Paul was unable to attend the funeral. Jim was cremated at Landican Cemetery, near Heswall
, on 22 March 1976.
In Paul McCartney's 1984 film Give My Regards to Broad Street
, Paul goes to see a father-like figure named Jim, played by Ralph Richardson
. Paul later denied the character was based on his own father, claiming he was actually thinking of Polonius
from Hamlet
.
Mary Patricia Mohan was born at 2 Third Avenue, Fazakerley, Liverpool. When she was 11 years old, her mother, Mary Theresa Mohan, died giving birth to a fourth child, a daughter, who also died. After two years Mary's father met and married his second wife, Rose, while on a trip to Monaghan, in Ireland. Rose arrived in Liverpool with two children from a previous marriage, but Mary, who had until then been looking after the Mohan family, realised that Rose did not care much for domesticity or her new husband's children. After a year she chose to live with her aunts. In 1923, at 14 years old, Mary started her training to become a nurse at the Alder Hey Hospital. She later transferred to Walton Road Hospital in Rice Lane, Liverpool, and after ten years reached the position of Sister (responsible for the management of the ward/clinic/unit).
Mary became a domiciliary health visitor and midwife, and was on-call day or night, riding a bicycle to houses where she was needed as a midwife. Her eldest son, Paul, said his first memory was watching her cycling away when it was snowing heavily. After she had been diagnosed with cancer
, Mary (who was a heavy smoker) still carried on cycling to work, but often doubled up in pain and had trouble breathing. The day Mary was due to have a mastectomy
operation, she cleaned the McCartney house and laid Paul and Michael's school clothes out ready for the next day. She said to Dill Mohan, her sister-in-law, "Now everything's ready for them in case I don't come back." Mary died of an embolism
on 31 October 1956, after an operation to stop the spread of breast cancer
. Her last words to Dill Mohan were "I would love to have seen the boys growing up." Mary was buried on 3 November 1956 at Yew Tree Cemetery, Finch Lane, Liverpool. Paul later named his daughter Mary
after his mother, and Michael released an album entitled Woman in 1972, including the song, "Woman," with a photo of Mary on the front cover.
. They met in June 1940, at 11 Scargreen Avenue, West Derby
, the McCartney family home. Mary was staying with Jim's sister, Jin, because of the lack of accommodation in Liverpool at the time. As Mary sat quietly in an armchair, the air-raid sirens sounded at 9:30. At that time, the group moved to the Anderson shelter in the back garden to wait for the all-clear, but as there was an intensive bombing raid, the signal did not come and everyone was thus forced to sit in the cellar until dawn. Mary talked long enough with Jim to become romantically interested in him, and thought that he was "utterly charming and uncomplicated," as well as being entertained by his "considerable good humour." They took out a marriage licence at Liverpool Town Hall on 8 April 1941, and were married a week later at St. Swithin’s Roman Catholic chapel in Gillmoss, West Derby, on 15 April 1941. They first lived at 10 Sunbury Road, Liverpool, and then resided for a short time at 92 Broadway, Wallasey
, during November 1942. Jim's job at Napiers was classified as war work, so the McCartneys were given a small, but temporary, prefab
house at 3 Roach Avenue, Knowsley
.
Mary's job enabled the McCartneys to move to a ground-floor flat at 75 Sir Thomas White Gardens, off St. Domingo Road in Everton, to live in a rent-free flat that was supplied by her employers. They moved shortly after, in February 1946, to 72 Western Avenue in Speke
. In 1948, the family moved again to 12 Ardwick Road (also in Speke) which was part of a new estate in the suburbs of Liverpool. The frequent moves to better areas were Mary's idea, as she wanted to raise her children in the best neighbourhood possible.
In 1955, the McCartney family moved for the last time to a small three-bedroomed brick-built terrace house at 20 Forthlin Road
in Allerton
, which is now owned by The National Trust
. It only cost £1/6s per week, which was due to Mary's seniority at the hospital. Before moving to Forthlin Road, Jim had been secretary of the Speke Horticultural Society
, and had often sent Paul and Michael out to canvass for new members. Jim planted dahlias and snapdragons in the front garden of Forthlin Road and regularly trimmed the lavender
hedge, although it was Paul's job to collect horse manure
from the local streets in a bucket to be dug into the flowerbeds. As both Jim and Mary were heavy smokers
, Jim would first dry and then crush sprigs of Lavender and then burn them (like incense
) in the ashtrays to kill the smell of cigarette smoke.
Money was a problem in the McCartney house, as Jim only earned up to £6.00 a week, which was less than his wife. Because of their financial situation, the McCartney family could not afford to buy a television
set until the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
in 1953, and never owned a car. Paul and Michael were the first in the McCartney family to buy cars.
When The Beatles became successful, Jim had to leave Forthlin Road because fans used to stand outside and stare through the windows, which made him feel uncomfortable and nervous. Eight years after Mary's death, Jim married Angela Williams, on 24 November 1964. Williams had a daughter from a previous marriage, Ruth, whom Jim legally adopted.
As Mary was a Roman Catholic and Jim a Church of England Protestant—who later turned agnostic—their children were baptised Roman Catholic but raised non-denominationally, although Mary had married Jim on the promise that any children would be baptised in the Catholic faith. Although registered on his birth certificate as James Paul McCartney, their first son was known as Paul thereafter. Paul and Michael were not enrolled in Catholic schools, as Jim believed that they leaned too much towards religion instead of education. Paul remembers his mother encouraging her children to use the Queen's English and not the Liverpudlian dialect, which was unusual for the area they lived in. Michael remembered that Jim had a temper when he was provoked, and that both Paul and he were hit when they were young, but this is refuted by other members of the family.
Jim and Mary would often take Paul and Michael for a walk to the local rustic village of Hale (home of the giant Childe of Hale
's gravesite). According to Paul, these frequent trips out of Liverpool to the countryside inspired his love of nature. The McCartneys had a full set of George Newnes
encyclopedias which Jim encouraged Paul and Michael to use, and told his sons to look up any word they did not understand. After Paul had passed the Eleven-plus Exam—meaning he would automatically gain a place at the Liverpool Institute—it was hoped that Paul would become a doctor or a teacher. Michael would also attend the Liverpool Institute two years later.
After Mary's death, Paul and Michael were sent to live with Jim's brother Joe, and his wife Joan, for a short time, so as to let their father grieve in private. Jim depended heavily on his sisters, Jin and Millie, to help around the house, as he was so depressed he once threatened suicide. Jim later took part in the running of the household, as Cynthia Lennon
remembered that when she and John Lennon
used to visit Forthlin Road, Jim would often answer the door with his sleeves rolled up, a tea towel in his hand and an apron
tied around his waist. When Paul later played at The Cavern during lunchtimes, Jim would drop off food there that Paul would later put in the oven at Forthlin Road. Ruth remembered that Jim was funny and musical with her, but also strict when she was young, and was insistent that she learned good table manners
and etiquette
when speaking to people.
Joe McCartney, Jim's father, was a traditionalist who liked opera and played an E-flat tuba
in the local Territorial Army band that played in Stanley Park, and the Copes' Tobacco factory Brass Band
where he worked. He also played the double bass
at home, sang, and hoped to interest his children in music. Jim learned how to play the trumpet
and piano
by ear, and at the age of 17 started playing ragtime music. Joe McCartney thought that ragtime—the most popular music of the period—was "tin-can music". Jim's first public appearance was at St Catherine’s Hall, Vine Street, Liverpool, with a band that wore black masks as a gimmick, calling themselves the Masked Melody Makers. He later led Jim Mac's Jazz Band in the 1920s, with his brother Jack on trombone
, and composed his first tune, "Eloise". Paul would later record it as, "Walking in The Park With Eloise". Jim had an upright piano in the Forthlin Road front room that he had bought from Harry Epstein's North End Music Store (NEMS) and Brian Epstein
, Harry's son, later became The Beatles' manager.
Jim had a collection of old, 78 rpm records that he would often play, or perform his musical "party-pieces"—the hits of the time—on the piano. He used to point out the different instruments in songs on the radio to his sons, and took them to local brass band
concerts. Jim also taught them a basic idea of harmony
between instruments, and Paul credits Jim's tuition as being helpful when later singing harmonies with Lennon. After Mary's death, Jim bought Paul a nickel-plated trumpet as a birthday present. When skiffle music became popular, Paul swapped the trumpet for a £15 Framus
Zenith (model 17) acoustic guitar. Paul also played his father's Framus Spanish guitar when writing early songs with Lennon.
With encouragement from Jim, Paul started playing the family piano and wrote "When I'm Sixty-Four
" on it. Jim advised Paul to take some music lessons, which he did, but soon realised that he preferred to learn 'by ear' (as his father had done) and because he never paid attention in music classes. After Paul and Michael became interested in music, Jim connected the radio in the living room to extension cords connected to two pairs of Bakelite headphones so that they could listen to Radio Luxembourg
at night when they were in bed.
After first meeting Lennon, Jim warned Paul that he would get him "into trouble", although he later allowed The Quarrymen
to rehearse in the dining room at Forthlin Road in the evenings. Jim was reluctant to let the teenage Paul go to Hamburg
with The Beatles until Paul said the group would earn £15 per week each. As this was more than he earned himself, Jim finally agreed, but only after a visit from the group's then-manager, Allan Williams
, who said that Jim should not worry. Jim was later present at a Beatles' concert in Manchester
when fans surrounded drummer Pete Best
, and ignored the rest of The Beatles. Jim criticised Best by saying, "Why did you have to attract all the attention? Why didn't you call the other lads back? I think that was very selfish of you". Bill Harry
recalled that Jim was probably "The Beatles' biggest fan", and was extremely proud of Paul's success. Shelagh Johnson—later to become director of The Beatles' Museum in Liverpool—said that Jim's outward show of pride embarrassed his son. Jim enlisted Michael's help when sorting through the ever-increasing sacks of fan letters that were delivered to Forthlin Road, with both composing "personal" responses that were supposedly from Paul. Michael would later have success on his own with the group The Scaffold.
" just after Mary had died, and explained that it was a subconscious reference to his late mother. He also wrote "Golden Slumbers" at his father's house in Heswall, and said the lyrics were taken from Ruth McCartney's sheet-music copy of Thomas Dekker's lullaby—also called "Golden Slumbers
"—that Ruth had left on the piano at Rembrandt. Hunter Davies
, who was at Jim's house at the time doing an interview for his Beatles' biography, remembered Jim listening to an acetate disc
of "When I'm Sixty-Four". Davies wrote that Paul recorded the song specifically for his father, as Jim was then 64 years old and had married Angela two years previously. Paul wrote "Let It Be", because of a dream he had during the Get Back/Let It Be
sessions. He said that he had dreamt of his mother, and the "Mother Mary" lyric was about her. He later said, "It was great to visit with her again. I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing 'Let It Be'."
In 1974, Paul added lyrics and recorded a song his father had previously written, entitled "Walking in the Park with Eloise", which was released by Wings under the pseudonym, "The Country Hams". The Country Hams' single was backed with a tune entitled "Bridge on the River Suite". Both songs can be found on the CD Wings at the Speed of Sound
from The Paul McCartney Collection
.
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
and Wings
Wings (band)
Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
, and photographer and musician Mike McCartney
Mike McCartney
Mike McCartney , known professionally as Mike McGear, is a British performing artist and rock photographer and the younger brother of Paul McCartney...
, who worked with The Scaffold
The Scaffold
The Scaffold were a comedy, poetry and music trio from Liverpool, England, consisting of Mike McGear , Roger McGough and John Gorman.-Career:...
.
Like many families in Liverpool, the McCartney and Mohin families are of Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
descent. Jim worked for most of his life in the cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
trade, as well as playing in ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
bands in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, while Mary was a trained nurse and midwife.
The McCartney family lived in council house
Council house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
s during Mary's life, but Paul later bought his father a house called Rembrandt, in Heswall
Heswall
Heswall is a town in Wirral, in the county of Merseyside, England. Administratively, it is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. At the time of the 2001 Census, the total population of the ward was 16,012 , which included the nearby villages of Barnston and Gayton...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
. Jim encouraged his two sons to take up music by buying instruments for them to learn, as well as improving their status in life through education. Mary was Paul's inspiration for the song, "Let It Be
Let It Be (song)
"Let It Be" is a song by The Beatles, released in March 1970 as a single, and as the title track of their album Let It Be. It was written by Paul McCartney, but credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was their final single before McCartney announced his departure from the band...
". After Mary’s death, Jim married Angela Williams and adopted her daughter from a previous marriage, Ruth McCartney
Ruth McCartney
Ruth McCartney originally a British musician, stepsister and adoptive half-sister of Paul McCartney...
.
McCartney & Mohin
The McCartneys have IrishIrish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
roots, as Jim's great-grandfather, James McCartney (an upholsterer) was born in Ireland, but it was previously unknown where Jim's grandfather, James McCartney II, was born. New evidence found in Scottish archives suggests that James McCartney moved with his family (including James McCartney II) from Ireland to Galloway
Galloway
Galloway is an area in southwestern Scotland. It usually refers to the former counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire...
, Scotland, around 1859, before moving south and settling in Liverpool.
James II (a plumber and painter) married Elizabeth Williams in 1864, in Liverpool. The pair were both under-age when they were wed, but found a place to live together in Scotland Road. Jim's father, Joseph "Joe" McCartney (born 23 November 1866) was a tobacco-cutter by trade when he married Florence "Florrie" Clegg (born 2 June 1874) in the Christ Church, Kensington, Liverpool, on 17 May 1896. Joe never drank alcohol, went to bed at 10 o’clock every night, and the only swear word he used was ‘Jaysus’. Florrie was known as "Granny Mac" in the neighbourhood and was often consulted when families had problems.
Mary's father was born in Tullynamalrow, County Monaghan
County Monaghan
County Monaghan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland, in 1880, as Owen Mohan, but permanently changed his name to Mohin when he was at school to avoid confusion with many other pupils with the same surname. After moving to Liverpool, he worked as a coalman
Trolley (horse-drawn)
Among horse-drawn vehicles, a trolley was a goods vehicle with a platform body with four small wheels of equal size, mounted underneath it, the front two on a turntable undercarriage. The wheels were rather larger and the deck proportionately higher than those of a lorry...
, and married Mary Theresa Danher from Toxteth Park
Toxteth
Toxteth is an inner city area of Liverpool, England. Located to the south of the city, Toxteth is bordered by Liverpool City Centre, Dingle, Edge Hill, Wavertree and Aigburth.-Description:...
, at St. Charles Roman Catholic Church, on 24 April 1905.
Jim
Terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
about three-quarters of a mile from the Liverpool city centre, where Jim attended the Steers Street Primary School off Everton Road. After leaving school at 14, Jim found work for six shillings a week as a cotton "sample boy", at A. Hanney & Co.; a cotton broker in Chapel Street, Liverpool. Jim's job entailed running up and down Old Hall Street with large bundles of cotton that had to be delivered to cotton brokers or merchants in various salesrooms. He worked ten-hour days, five days a week, although he received a bonus at Christmas that was almost double his annual salary
Salary
A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis....
.
When World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
started Jim was too old to be called up for active service, as well as having previously been disqualified on medical grounds after falling from a wall and smashing his left eardrum
Eardrum
The eardrum, or tympanic membrane, is a thin membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ear in humans and other tetrapods. Its function is to transmit sound from the air to the ossicles inside the middle ear. The malleus bone bridges the gap between the eardrum and the other ossicles...
when 10-years-old. After the cotton exchange closed for the duration of the war, Jim worked as an inspector at Napier's
Robert Napier (engineer)
Robert Napier was a Scottish engineer, and is often called "The Father of Clyde Shipbuilding."-Early life:Robert Napier was born in Dumbarton at the height of the Industrial Revolution, to James and Jean Napier...
engineering works, which made shell cases that were later filled with explosives. He volunteered to be a fireman at night and often watched Liverpool burning from his rooftop observer's position. Between 1940 and 1942, Liverpool endured 68 air-raids, which killed or injured more than 4,500 of the population and destroyed more than 10,000 homes. After the war he worked as an inspector for Liverpool Corporation's Cleansing Department before returning to the cotton trade in 1946.
Jim avidly read the Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
The Liverpool Echo is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Saturday, and is Liverpool's evening newspaper while its sister paper, the Liverpool Daily Post, is the morning paper...
or Express, liked solving crosswords and instigated discussions about varied subjects. His attitude to life was based upon self-respect, perseverance, fairness and a strong work ethic. His political views were far from left-wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
, as he insisted that there was nothing anyone could do about the situation the working classes were in at the time, and nothing would ever change.
62-year-old Jim was earning £10 a week in 1964, but Paul suggested that his father should retire, and bought "Rembrandt"; a detached mock-Tudor house in Baskervyle Road, Heswall, Cheshire, for £8,750. Paul bought Jim a horse called "Drake’s Drum", and a couple of years later, the horse won the race immediately preceding the Grand National
Grand National
The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...
.
Jim died of bronchial pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
on 18 March 1976. His second wife, Angela McCartney (née Williams) said that his last words were "I’ll be with Mary soon." Jim died two days before a Wings European tour, and Paul was unable to attend the funeral. Jim was cremated at Landican Cemetery, near Heswall
Heswall
Heswall is a town in Wirral, in the county of Merseyside, England. Administratively, it is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. At the time of the 2001 Census, the total population of the ward was 16,012 , which included the nearby villages of Barnston and Gayton...
, on 22 March 1976.
In Paul McCartney's 1984 film Give My Regards to Broad Street
Give My Regards to Broad Street
Give My Regards to Broad Street is the soundtrack album to the 1984 film of the same name. Unlike the film, the album was successful, achieving #1 in the UK chart and its lead single "No More Lonely Nights" was BAFTA and Golden Globe award nominated....
, Paul goes to see a father-like figure named Jim, played by Ralph Richardson
Ralph Richardson
Sir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
. Paul later denied the character was based on his own father, claiming he was actually thinking of Polonius
Polonius
Polonius is a character in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. He is King Claudius's chief counsellor, and the father of Ophelia and Laertes. Polonius connives with Claudius to spy on Hamlet...
from Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
.
Mary
Mary became a domiciliary health visitor and midwife, and was on-call day or night, riding a bicycle to houses where she was needed as a midwife. Her eldest son, Paul, said his first memory was watching her cycling away when it was snowing heavily. After she had been diagnosed with cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, Mary (who was a heavy smoker) still carried on cycling to work, but often doubled up in pain and had trouble breathing. The day Mary was due to have a mastectomy
Mastectomy
Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. Mastectomy is usually done to treat breast cancer; in some cases, women and some men believed to be at high risk of breast cancer have the operation prophylactically, that is, to prevent cancer...
operation, she cleaned the McCartney house and laid Paul and Michael's school clothes out ready for the next day. She said to Dill Mohan, her sister-in-law, "Now everything's ready for them in case I don't come back." Mary died of an embolism
Embolism
In medicine, an embolism is the event of lodging of an embolus into a narrow capillary vessel of an arterial bed which causes a blockage in a distant part of the body.Embolization is...
on 31 October 1956, after an operation to stop the spread of breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
. Her last words to Dill Mohan were "I would love to have seen the boys growing up." Mary was buried on 3 November 1956 at Yew Tree Cemetery, Finch Lane, Liverpool. Paul later named his daughter Mary
Mary McCartney
Mary Anna McCartney is a photographer. The first biological child of rock photographer Linda Eastman McCartney and Paul McCartney of The Beatles, Mary was named after her paternal grandmother, Mary McCartney....
after his mother, and Michael released an album entitled Woman in 1972, including the song, "Woman," with a photo of Mary on the front cover.
Marriage
Mary met her future husband during an air raid on Liverpool in 1940, when Jim was 38 years old, and had settled into what his friends thought was, "a confirmed bachelorhood." Mary had been too career-conscious to think of marriage and, at 31-years-old, was thought of as a spinsterSpinster
A spinster, or old maid, is an older, childless woman who has never been married.For a woman to be identified as a spinster, age is critical...
. They met in June 1940, at 11 Scargreen Avenue, West Derby
West Derby
West Derby is a suburb in the north of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is also a Liverpool City Council ward. At the 2001 Census, the population of the ward was 14,801 .-History:...
, the McCartney family home. Mary was staying with Jim's sister, Jin, because of the lack of accommodation in Liverpool at the time. As Mary sat quietly in an armchair, the air-raid sirens sounded at 9:30. At that time, the group moved to the Anderson shelter in the back garden to wait for the all-clear, but as there was an intensive bombing raid, the signal did not come and everyone was thus forced to sit in the cellar until dawn. Mary talked long enough with Jim to become romantically interested in him, and thought that he was "utterly charming and uncomplicated," as well as being entertained by his "considerable good humour." They took out a marriage licence at Liverpool Town Hall on 8 April 1941, and were married a week later at St. Swithin’s Roman Catholic chapel in Gillmoss, West Derby, on 15 April 1941. They first lived at 10 Sunbury Road, Liverpool, and then resided for a short time at 92 Broadway, Wallasey
Wallasey
Wallasey is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England, on the mouth of the River Mersey, at the northeastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula...
, during November 1942. Jim's job at Napiers was classified as war work, so the McCartneys were given a small, but temporary, prefab
Prefabricated home
Prefabricated homes, often referred to as prefab homes, are dwellings manufactured off-site in advance, usually in standard sections that can be easily shipped and assembled....
house at 3 Roach Avenue, Knowsley
Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley
The Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England. It comprises the towns of Kirkby, Prescot, Huyton, Whiston, Halewood and Cronton; Kirkby, Huyton, and Prescot being the major commercial centres...
.
Mary's job enabled the McCartneys to move to a ground-floor flat at 75 Sir Thomas White Gardens, off St. Domingo Road in Everton, to live in a rent-free flat that was supplied by her employers. They moved shortly after, in February 1946, to 72 Western Avenue in Speke
Speke
Speke is an area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, close to the boundaries of the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley. It is south east of the city centre and to the west of the town of Widnes....
. In 1948, the family moved again to 12 Ardwick Road (also in Speke) which was part of a new estate in the suburbs of Liverpool. The frequent moves to better areas were Mary's idea, as she wanted to raise her children in the best neighbourhood possible.
20 Forthlin Road
20 Forthlin Road is a National Trust property in south Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is the house in which Paul McCartney lived for several years before he rose to fame with The Beatles. It was also the home of his brother Mike.- History :...
in Allerton
Allerton, Merseyside
Allerton is a suburb of Liverpool, in Merseyside, England. It is located southeast of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Mossley Hill, Woolton, Hunts Cross and Garston....
, which is now owned by The National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
. It only cost £1/6s per week, which was due to Mary's seniority at the hospital. Before moving to Forthlin Road, Jim had been secretary of the Speke Horticultural Society
Horticultural society
A horticultural society is an organization devoted to the study and culture of cultivated plants. Such organizations may be local, regional, national, or international...
, and had often sent Paul and Michael out to canvass for new members. Jim planted dahlias and snapdragons in the front garden of Forthlin Road and regularly trimmed the lavender
Lavender
The lavenders are a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. An Old World genus, distributed from Macaronesia across Africa, the Mediterranean, South-West Asia, Arabia, Western Iran and South-East India...
hedge, although it was Paul's job to collect horse manure
Manure
Manure is organic matter used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Manures contribute to the fertility of the soil by adding organic matter and nutrients, such as nitrogen, that are trapped by bacteria in the soil...
from the local streets in a bucket to be dug into the flowerbeds. As both Jim and Mary were heavy smokers
Smoking
Smoking is a practice in which a substance, most commonly tobacco or cannabis, is burned and the smoke is tasted or inhaled. This is primarily practised as a route of administration for recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them...
, Jim would first dry and then crush sprigs of Lavender and then burn them (like incense
Incense
Incense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...
) in the ashtrays to kill the smell of cigarette smoke.
Money was a problem in the McCartney house, as Jim only earned up to £6.00 a week, which was less than his wife. Because of their financial situation, the McCartney family could not afford to buy a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
set until the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was the ceremony in which the newly ascended monarch, Elizabeth II, was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ceylon, and Pakistan, as well as taking on the role of Head of the Commonwealth...
in 1953, and never owned a car. Paul and Michael were the first in the McCartney family to buy cars.
When The Beatles became successful, Jim had to leave Forthlin Road because fans used to stand outside and stare through the windows, which made him feel uncomfortable and nervous. Eight years after Mary's death, Jim married Angela Williams, on 24 November 1964. Williams had a daughter from a previous marriage, Ruth, whom Jim legally adopted.
Children
James Paul McCartney (b. 18 June 1942) and Peter Michael McCartney (b. 7 January 1944) were both delivered in the Walton General Hospital in Rice Lane, Liverpool, where Mary had previously worked as a nursing sister in charge of the maternity ward. Mary was welcomed back shortly before she gave birth to Paul by being given a bed in a private ward. Jim was not present at the birth as he was fighting a warehouse fire, but arrived at the hospital two hours later.Jim and Mary would often take Paul and Michael for a walk to the local rustic village of Hale (home of the giant Childe of Hale
Hale, Halton
Hale is a village and civil parish in the Halton unitary authority of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,898....
's gravesite). According to Paul, these frequent trips out of Liverpool to the countryside inspired his love of nature. The McCartneys had a full set of George Newnes
George Newnes
Sir George Newnes, 1st Baronet was a publisher and editor in England.-Background and education:...
encyclopedias which Jim encouraged Paul and Michael to use, and told his sons to look up any word they did not understand. After Paul had passed the Eleven-plus Exam—meaning he would automatically gain a place at the Liverpool Institute—it was hoped that Paul would become a doctor or a teacher. Michael would also attend the Liverpool Institute two years later.
After Mary's death, Paul and Michael were sent to live with Jim's brother Joe, and his wife Joan, for a short time, so as to let their father grieve in private. Jim depended heavily on his sisters, Jin and Millie, to help around the house, as he was so depressed he once threatened suicide. Jim later took part in the running of the household, as Cynthia Lennon
Cynthia Lennon
Cynthia Lillian Lennon is the former wife of musician John Lennon, and mother of Julian Lennon. She grew up in the middle-class section of Hoylake, on the Wirral Peninsula in North West England. At the age of twelve, she was accepted into the Junior Art School, and was later enrolled in the...
remembered that when she and John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
used to visit Forthlin Road, Jim would often answer the door with his sleeves rolled up, a tea towel in his hand and an apron
Apron
An apron is an outer protective garment that covers primarily the front of the body. It may be worn for hygienic reasons as well as in order to protect clothes from wear and tear. The apron is commonly part of the uniform of several work categories, including waitresses, nurses, and domestic...
tied around his waist. When Paul later played at The Cavern during lunchtimes, Jim would drop off food there that Paul would later put in the oven at Forthlin Road. Ruth remembered that Jim was funny and musical with her, but also strict when she was young, and was insistent that she learned good table manners
Table manners
Table manners are the rules of etiquette used while eating, which may also include the appropriate use of utensils. Different cultures observe different rules for table manners...
and etiquette
Etiquette
Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...
when speaking to people.
Music
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
in the local Territorial Army band that played in Stanley Park, and the Copes' Tobacco factory Brass Band
Brass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
where he worked. He also played the double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
at home, sang, and hoped to interest his children in music. Jim learned how to play the trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
by ear, and at the age of 17 started playing ragtime music. Joe McCartney thought that ragtime—the most popular music of the period—was "tin-can music". Jim's first public appearance was at St Catherine’s Hall, Vine Street, Liverpool, with a band that wore black masks as a gimmick, calling themselves the Masked Melody Makers. He later led Jim Mac's Jazz Band in the 1920s, with his brother Jack on trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
, and composed his first tune, "Eloise". Paul would later record it as, "Walking in The Park With Eloise". Jim had an upright piano in the Forthlin Road front room that he had bought from Harry Epstein's North End Music Store (NEMS) and Brian Epstein
Brian Epstein
Brian Samuel Epstein , was an English music entrepreneur, and is best known for being the manager of The Beatles up until his death. He also managed several other musical artists such as Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, The Remo Four & The Cyrkle...
, Harry's son, later became The Beatles' manager.
Jim had a collection of old, 78 rpm records that he would often play, or perform his musical "party-pieces"—the hits of the time—on the piano. He used to point out the different instruments in songs on the radio to his sons, and took them to local brass band
Brass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
concerts. Jim also taught them a basic idea of harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
between instruments, and Paul credits Jim's tuition as being helpful when later singing harmonies with Lennon. After Mary's death, Jim bought Paul a nickel-plated trumpet as a birthday present. When skiffle music became popular, Paul swapped the trumpet for a £15 Framus
Framus
Framus is a German guitar, bass, lap steel guitars and banjo manufacturing company, that existed from 1946 until going bankrupt in 1975. The Framus brand was revived in 1995 as part of Warwick GmbH & Co Music Equipment KG in Markneukirchen ....
Zenith (model 17) acoustic guitar. Paul also played his father's Framus Spanish guitar when writing early songs with Lennon.
With encouragement from Jim, Paul started playing the family piano and wrote "When I'm Sixty-Four
When I'm Sixty-Four
"When I'm Sixty-Four" is a song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and released in 1967 on their album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.-Composition:...
" on it. Jim advised Paul to take some music lessons, which he did, but soon realised that he preferred to learn 'by ear' (as his father had done) and because he never paid attention in music classes. After Paul and Michael became interested in music, Jim connected the radio in the living room to extension cords connected to two pairs of Bakelite headphones so that they could listen to Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg (English)
Radio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is nowadays known in most non-English languages as RTL ....
at night when they were in bed.
After first meeting Lennon, Jim warned Paul that he would get him "into trouble", although he later allowed The Quarrymen
The Quarrymen
The Quarrymen are a British skiffle and rock and roll group, initially formed in Liverpool in 1956, that eventually evolved into The Beatles in 1960...
to rehearse in the dining room at Forthlin Road in the evenings. Jim was reluctant to let the teenage Paul go to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
with The Beatles until Paul said the group would earn £15 per week each. As this was more than he earned himself, Jim finally agreed, but only after a visit from the group's then-manager, Allan Williams
Allan Williams
Allan Williams is a former businessman and promoter of Welsh descent. He was the original booking agent of The Beatles...
, who said that Jim should not worry. Jim was later present at a Beatles' concert in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
when fans surrounded drummer Pete Best
Pete Best
Pete Best is a British musician, best known as the original drummer in The Beatles. He was born in the city of Madras, British India...
, and ignored the rest of The Beatles. Jim criticised Best by saying, "Why did you have to attract all the attention? Why didn't you call the other lads back? I think that was very selfish of you". Bill Harry
Bill Harry
Bill Harry is the creator of Mersey Beat, an important newspaper of the early 1960s, which focused on the Liverpool music scene...
recalled that Jim was probably "The Beatles' biggest fan", and was extremely proud of Paul's success. Shelagh Johnson—later to become director of The Beatles' Museum in Liverpool—said that Jim's outward show of pride embarrassed his son. Jim enlisted Michael's help when sorting through the ever-increasing sacks of fan letters that were delivered to Forthlin Road, with both composing "personal" responses that were supposedly from Paul. Michael would later have success on his own with the group The Scaffold.
Songs
Paul wrote "I Lost My Little GirlI Lost My Little Girl
"I Lost My Little Girl" is the first song written by Paul McCartney, when he was 14, in 1956. A performance of this song can be heard on McCartney's 1991 album Unplugged ....
" just after Mary had died, and explained that it was a subconscious reference to his late mother. He also wrote "Golden Slumbers" at his father's house in Heswall, and said the lyrics were taken from Ruth McCartney's sheet-music copy of Thomas Dekker's lullaby—also called "Golden Slumbers
Golden Slumbers
"Golden Slumbers" is a song by The Beatles, part of the climactic medley on their 1969 album Abbey Road. The song begins the progression that leads to the end of the album and is followed by "Carry That Weight." The two songs were recorded together as a single piece, and both were written by Paul...
"—that Ruth had left on the piano at Rembrandt. Hunter Davies
Hunter Davies
Edward Hunter Davies is a prolific British author, journalist and broadcaster, perhaps best known for writing the only authorised biography of The Beatles.- Early life :...
, who was at Jim's house at the time doing an interview for his Beatles' biography, remembered Jim listening to an acetate disc
Acetate disc
An acetate disc, also known as a test acetate, dubplate , lacquer , transcription disc or instantaneous disc...
of "When I'm Sixty-Four". Davies wrote that Paul recorded the song specifically for his father, as Jim was then 64 years old and had married Angela two years previously. Paul wrote "Let It Be", because of a dream he had during the Get Back/Let It Be
Let It Be (album)
Let It Be is the 12th and final studio album released by the English rock band The Beatles. It was released on 8 May 1970 by the band's Apple Records label shortly after the group announced their break-up....
sessions. He said that he had dreamt of his mother, and the "Mother Mary" lyric was about her. He later said, "It was great to visit with her again. I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing 'Let It Be'."
In 1974, Paul added lyrics and recorded a song his father had previously written, entitled "Walking in the Park with Eloise", which was released by Wings under the pseudonym, "The Country Hams". The Country Hams' single was backed with a tune entitled "Bridge on the River Suite". Both songs can be found on the CD Wings at the Speed of Sound
Wings at the Speed of Sound
Wings at the Speed of Sound is the fifth album by Wings and was recorded and issued in 1976 in the midst of a large world tour as the follow-up album to the popular Venus and Mars.- History :...
from The Paul McCartney Collection
The Paul McCartney Collection
The Paul McCartney Collection is a 16 volume set of reissues by Paul McCartney of his solo and Wings albums, with most adding bonus tracks. The discs in the collection were released separately in most of the world, with half appearing on June 7, 1993, and the remainder on August 9 of the same year...
.