Editing Stuart Sutcliffe (section)

==Death==
[[File:Grave of Stuart Sutcliffe at St Michael's Church, Huyton.jpg|thumb|Stuart Sutcliffe's grave at St. Michael's Church]]
While studying in Germany, Sutcliffe began experiencing severe headaches and acute sensitivity to light.<ref>[http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mol/exhibitions/sutcliffe/letter3.asp Sefton General Hospital report] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070514030253/http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mol/exhibitions/sutcliffe/letter3.asp |date=14 May 2007 }} liverpoolmuseums.org.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2007</ref> According to Kirchherr, some of the headaches left him temporarily blind.{{sfn|Spitz|2005|p=278}}{{sfn|Lennon|2005|p=110}} In February 1962, Sutcliffe collapsed during an art class in Hamburg. Kirchherr's mother had German doctors examine him, but they were unable to determine the exact cause of his headaches. They suggested he return to the UK and have himself admitted to a hospital with better facilities; however, after arriving, Sutcliffe was told nothing was wrong and returned to Hamburg. He continued living with the Kirchherrs, but his condition soon worsened. After he collapsed again on 10 April 1962, Kirchherr took him to hospital, riding with him in the ambulance, but he died before they arrived.{{sfn|Lennon|2005|p=110}} The cause of death was a [[cerebral haemorrhage]], specifically a ruptured [[aneurysm]]{{sfn|Lennon|2005|p=110}}{{sfn|Spitz|2005|p=305}} resulting in cerebral paralysis due to severe bleeding into the right [[Ventricular system|ventricle]] of the brain. He was 21 years old.<ref name="Ingham">Ingham, Chris, (2003) [https://books.google.com/books?id=htl2U1fPq8QC&pg=PA361 ''The Rough Guide to the Beatles''], First Edition. London: Rough Guide, Ltd. p. 361. {{ISBN|1-84353-140-2}}. Accessed 25 August 2013.</ref>

On 13 April 1962, Kirchherr met the Beatles at [[Hamburg Airport]], telling them Sutcliffe had died a few days earlier.<ref name="BeatlesTimeline"/>{{sfn|Spitz|2005|p=305}} Sutcliffe's mother flew to Hamburg with Beatles manager [[Brian Epstein]] and returned to Liverpool with her son's body.<ref name="FreshAirinterviewwithAstrid" /> Sutcliffe's father did not hear of Stuart's death for three weeks, as he was sailing to South America on a cruise ship, although the family arranged for a [[Military Chaplain|padre]], a military chaplain, to give him the news as soon as the ship docked in [[Buenos Aires]].{{sfn|Giuliano|Giuliano|1996|p=3}} After Sutcliffe's death, Kirchherr wrote a letter to his mother, apologising for being too ill to attend his funeral in Liverpool and saying how much she and Lennon missed him:
<blockquote>
Oh, Mum, he (Lennon) is in a terrible mood now, he just can't believe that darling Stuart never comes back. [He's] just crying his eyes out ... John is marvellous to me, he says that he knows Stuart so much and he loves him so much that he can understand me.<ref>[http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mol/exhibitions/sutcliffe/letter4.asp Astrid's letter to Millie Sutcliffe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926235836/http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mol/exhibitions/sutcliffe/letter4.asp |date=26 September 2007 }} liverpoolmuseums.org.uk. Retrieved 13 May 2007</ref>
</blockquote>
The cause of Sutcliffe's aneurysm is unknown, although authors of books on the Beatles have speculated it was caused by an earlier head injury. He may have been either kicked in the head, or thrown head first against a brick wall during an attack outside [[Lathom Hall]] after a performance in January 1961.{{sfn|Spitz|2005|p=240}} According to booking agent [[Allan Williams]], Lennon and Best went to Sutcliffe's aid, fighting off his attackers before dragging him to safety. Sutcliffe sustained a [[skull fracture|fractured skull]] in the fight and Lennon's little finger was broken.{{sfn|Spitz|2005|p=884}} Sutcliffe refused medical attention at the time and failed to keep an [[X-ray]] appointment at Sefton General Hospital.{{sfn|Spitz|2005|p=241}}

Although Lennon did not attend nor send flowers to Sutcliffe's funeral, his second wife, [[Yoko Ono]], recalled that Lennon mentioned Sutcliffe's name often, saying he was "[My] alter ego ... a spirit in his world ... a guiding force".{{sfn|Kane|2007|p=52}}

Sutcliffe is buried in [[St Michael's Church, Huyton|Huyton Parish Church]] Cemetery (also known as St. Michael's) in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, in North West England.