Lennon's father, a sailor during World War II, was often away from home, and sent regular pay checks at 9 Newcastle Road, Liverpool, where Lennon lived with his mother. The checks stopped when Alfred Lennon went absent without leave in 1943.Lennon's mother followed them and after a quarrel, forced his father to five-year-olds to choose between parents.
Lennon regularly visited his cousin Stanley Parkes in Fleetwood.Seven years Lennon senior, Parkes often took him on trips, and the pair enjoyed the film together in the local cinema. They would go to Blackpool Tower Circus and see artists such as Dickie Valentine, Arthur Askey, Max Bygraves and Joe Loss. Parkes recalls that Lennon particularly liked the George Formby.
