Rembering John and ‘Uncle George’ at St Peter’s Church, Woolton

With a little help from our friends …

Thousands of Beatles fans travel to St Peter’s Church in Woolton every year from all around the world to see the place where John Lennon and Paul McCartney were introduced on July 6 1957, and also to visit the graves of Eleanor Rigby and John’s uncle, George Toogood Smith.

Sadly, the weather and the passing years have taken their toll on Uncle George’s grave and it has been an aim of the team of volunteers who look after Beatles heritage at the Church to carry out some much-needed restoration work. 

This year, due to the generosity of the visitors to St Peter’s through donations and the purchase of souvenirs, this has been made possible and the newly-refurbished grave will be unveiled in a special ceremony at 2pm on Friday October 9, to commemorate John’s 75^th birthday.

Dr Donna Jackson, Senior Lecturer in Modern History at the University of Chester and a member of the congregation at St Peter’s explained:

“There are many reasons why this is an important event.   Most of all, it’s a way for the Beatles fans to say ‘thank you’ to a man who was so important in John’s life.  Before we planned the refurbishment we talked to members of John’s family to explain what we wanted to do; the last thing we wanted was for them to think that we were intruding on a private family issue.  But fortunately, they agreed that this was a lovely gesture on the part of Beatles fans.  Uncle George took care of John for many years, and it’s nice that Beatles fans can now return that favour by taking care of his grave.

The other reason is that the lettering on the grave stone is quite weathered and faded and so it’s hard to spot.  We get a lot of visitors to the Church who are on self-guided tours and, having travelled from around the world, we want them to be able to find what they’re looking for!”

Graham Paisley, Verger at St Peter's commented, "St Peter's Church has been the centre of worship in Woolton Village for nearly two hundred years and has played an important part in the lives of so many people during that time. However we realise that over the past fifty years it has become an increasingly popular tourist attraction because of the world wide interest in the Beatles. We are fortunate that Dr Jackson and a number of the church family have arranged a number of events at St Peter's to make visitors feel both welcome and share a little of the history of the Beatles in Woolton."

Dr Jackson added, “We sell souvenirs at the Church and we often get asked what the money is used for.  We always explain that the money goes towards the maintenance and upkeep of the Church, Church Hall and other aspects of Beatles heritage at St Peter’s, as well as for other Church projects, and so we’re delighted that the fans will be able to see for themselves that their money is being put to good use.”

Donna Jackson with the Quarrymen (L-R: John Duff Lowe,
Rod Davis, Len Garry & Colin Hanton)

The work on the grave is being carried out by Lee at Speke Memorials.  “We contacted Lee because we knew that he had carried out some refurbishment of our Eleanor Rigby’s grave in the past,” Dr Jackson explained.  “We hoped that he might be interested in helping us out again and to our delight he was.  He told us that it was an ‘absolute privilege’ to be asked to carry out the work and promised that it would all be done in time to celebrate John’s life on what would have been his 75^th birthday.”

The Quarrymen performing in St Peter's
Church Hall, May 2015

The unveiling ceremony will take place at 2pm on Friday October 9, and will be performed by the Quarrymen and Andrew Lancel.  The Quarrymen are all still regular visitors to the Church and, of course, were key ‘players’ on the day that John and Paul met.  Actor Andrew Lancel, who recently played Brian Epstein in “Epstein The Play” is not only a huge Beatles fan but also a member of the congregation at St Peter’s.    Top Liverpool Beatles guide, Jackie, Spencer, will give a short talk on the importance of Uncle George to John, and then everyone is invited over to the Church Hall for a party to celebrate John’s life.  There will be live music from Mark Bloor, one of the Cavern’s resident musicians and, as befits any birthday party, tea and a special cake provided by The Cake Rooms, Liverpool.

Andrew Lancel

 Dr Jackson: “We want the Beatles fans to see how we’ve spent their money so we’re hoping that as many as possible can attend the ceremony.  We’re also hoping to have a few surprises on the day too, so it should be a great day and, hopefully, a lovely and fitting way to remember John on his 75^th birthday.”