I’ve read somewhere that John Lennon’s trademark round wire-rimmed specs were issued by the British Ministry of Health in the 50’s and 60’s (or identical to the same), eschewing flashier styles or (later) contact lenses. In this way, as the story goes, Lennon resisted the glamour of stardom, choosing instead to wear the same glasses worn by everyday Englishmen.
Is this true?
Yes, it’s true. He wore National Health specs. They weren’t popular until he started wearing them in public. There are also pictures of him prior to 1966 wearing big, black-framed glasses, too. Whenever he appeared in public without glasses, he couldn’t see very much, and he nearly always wore them in private.
Thank you. Is there a cite, or can we assume it to be true because these were the specs issued by National Health at this time?
Those round-framed glasses were issued to John when he was filming “How I Won The War” and he kept them. As for a cite, I wouldn’t have the first idea how to isolate that factoid from the billions of words written about The Beatles, just on the web, never mind in print…
I’ve no cite either, but I will second fishbicycle’s having heard the ‘How I Won the War’ story. I thought I read it in Phillip Norman’s book.
If these were issued for “How I Won the War”, then one might assume that this style of specs were issued during the WW2 era, not the 60’s, and might therefore be somewhat of a stylish affectation. What do you think?
I think it’s a good thing I just went to the stacks and dug up my copy of Shout! The Beatles in Their Generation.
from page 271:
“…He took to wearing the glasses he’d always hated, perversely the choosing the little owl-like frames like those prescribed for him at primary school in the 1940’s.”
This section is discusses his behavior, dress and attitude after making the movie, though. It would however, confirm that what you’ve read is true.
Excellent work, thanks so much. Just another example of why we love this board so much.
Actually, the glasses he wears in the excellent film “How I Won the War” are British military issue, WW2. The NHS may well have used the same no-frills metal frames in the 1950s, but the origin was military.
Here’s a pair of British Army glasses, issued in WW2; designed so that they wouldn’t interfere with a good seal when wearing the respirator (gas mask to you):
http://www.eyeglasseswarehouse.com/gasmask.html
http://www.nwha.org/news_3Q2002/news_page10.html (scroll down to bottom of page, lower right image).
Here’s a picture of a post-army Private Gripweed wearing them:
“The British Army has always fought the wily Pathan…stripped mother naked under the broiling sun…”
Perhaps the glass style is even older than that.
Here’s a picture of Baseball Great Casey Stengel when he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1912-1917 era)