These photographs of John Lennon and Yoko Ono posing with a wrecked Austin Maxi were taken at their Tittenhurst Park estate after the car was transported there following a July 1, 1969 car crash in the Scottish Highlands. The crash left both of them, and Ono’s daughter Kyoko, with facial injuries requiring stitches.
The accident occurred on July 1, 1969, on a narrow country road near Durness in the Scottish Highlands. Lennon was driving and was accompanied by Ono, his son Julian, and Ono’s daughter Kyoko Chan Cox.
Lennon, who was a notoriously poor driver and rarely drove, panicked when he encountered a car driven by a confused German tourist coming toward him on a single-lane road. He swerved to avoid a head-on collision and drove the Austin Maxi into a ditch. “I didn’t know what to do, so I just let go of the steering wheel,” he said.
Of the car’s four passengers, only Julian escaped unhurt. On being taken to Lawson Memorial Hospital in Golspie, John needed 17 stitches on his chin, Yoko 14 in her face and Kyoko 4 in her lip. All three were detained for five days to recover and ensure they had suffered no internal bleeding or other problems. Julian was treated for shock. He was taken to stay with Lennon’s Aunt Mater in Durness, around 50 miles away, before his mother Cynthia took him back to London the following day.
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