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Vintage ballpoint signatures of the Beatles — “Paul McCartney,” “Ringo Starr,” “John Lennon,” and “George Harrison” — on the reverse of an 8 x 13 typed letter from the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood (St. James’s Palace), dated October 7, 1965, sent by Major General C. H. Colquhoun to Lieutenant Colonel Harold Smith, directing the latter to attend an investiture at Buckingham Palace on October 26, 1965, to receive an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) award presented by Queen Elizabeth II. Smith was awarded the OBE for his service in the Royal Army Service Corps. In fine condition, with intersecting folds.
On the same day that Lieutenant Colonel Harold Smith received his OBE award at Buckingham Palace, the Beatles were also in attendance to accept their own MBEs (Member of the Order of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth II. The band had been informed of the honor earlier that month by manager Brian Epstein while working at London’s Twickenham Studios on their film Help! When the day arrived, the quartet drove up to Buckingham in Lennon’s black Rolls-Royce, drawing a crowd of some 4,000 fans, many of whom climbed lampposts and Palace gates in an effort to catch a glimpse of the group.
Along with hundreds of other recipients, each Beatle personally received his medal from the Queen. Four years later, however, Lennon publicly distanced himself from the honor. On November 25, 1969, he wrote a letter to Queen Elizabeth II: ‘I am returning my MBE as a protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against ‘Cold Turkey’ slipping down the charts. With love. John Lennon of Bag.’ This gesture had no effect on Lennon’s MBE status, which could be renounced, but ultimately only the Sovereign has the power to annul the original award. The medal, together with Lennon's letter, is held at the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood.
Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Tracks, a vintage photo of the band with their MBEs, a clipped newspaper article, and a letter of provenance from Harold’s son, which reads: ‘My father (Colonel Harold Smith) was awarded the OBE for services to the military. He was summoned to Buckingham Palace to receive the honour and my Mother and I (14 at the time) accompanied him to the Palace on the appointed day, 26 October 1965. I can't remember whether we were aware beforehand that the Beatles were to receive their MBEs on the same day but it was certainly apparent when we arrived at the Palace gates as we were greeted with a crowd of screaming girls!
We were checked in at the gates, passed through the arch into the Quadrangle and then led inside…My Father told us later that while all the honour recipients were being organised, he had noticed the Beatles surrounded by a few people, and realised that he would not be very popular with me if he failed to get their autographs. Fortunately, he had the letter inviting him to the Palace to collect his OBE and after negotiating the crowd he got through to them and gratefully obtained their signatures on the reverse of the letter, before returning to his place in the queue…
The recipients came through to receive their honours in order of seniority. We saw my Father receive his OBE and a short while later the Beatles came in together to receive their MBES. Most recipients exchanged short pleasantries with the Queen but the Beatles took longer. Unfortunately we could not hear what was being said…
In 2011, at the end of an episode of the Antiques Roadshow, the BBC announced they were to film a special issue to celebrate the Queens Diamond Anniversary in 2012 and were looking for interesting items with links to the Queen. I contacted them regarding my Beatles autographs story and I was subsequently invited to Kensington Palace to film the episode which was broadcast as part of the Anniversary celebrations on 10 June 2012.’
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