Like most musicians, John had a very problematic early childhood. He was born on October 9, 1940, during one of Liverpool's most horrific bombings. In fact, the raid was so bad that baby John was put under a table to protect him, and his aunt Mimi risked her life to come see him. His father, Alfred, was a merchant seaman so was often away and Julia, his mother, was very free-spirited and was the main source of John's entertaining personality. Due to Julia's personality, it was decided that Mimi, her much stricter sister, would raise John with her husband George. John was not abandoned by his mother, as some believe, she visited him frequently, but it was Mimi who raised him. One of the most horrific events in John's life when he was very young occurred when his father came home to see him when he was four years old. Alfred came and took John to Blackpool, despite Mimi's reluctance. He didn't come back at the expected time and Mimi and Julia went to pick him up. Once there, they forced John to choose which parent he wanted to live with. At first he wanted to stay with his father, but he went crying to his mother, who took him back to Mimi's house. This event tragically frightened John for the rest of his life and fostered his insecurity. Mimi and George were quite well off financially, contrary to John's idea that he was working class. Of all the Beatles, John came from the richest family. Mimi was very rigid and strict with John, and had the heartbreaking wit that John would later demonstrate. George was very easygoing and often spoiled John when Mimi punished him. John was a very bright child and read, wrote and sang often. However, he had a lot of difficulty at school. He was always in trouble with Pete Shotton, his accomplice. He did not perform well in school and was particularly bad at mathematics. John excelled in art. He was known for his caricatures of deformed people. This is why, as a teenager, he entered an art school. There he met his future wife, Cynthia Powell, and his best friend, Stuart Sutcliffe. Also by this time the skiffle craze had spread across Britain and John formed a group..