In September 1969, on a visit to Aunt Mimi, John stealthily removed his MBE from the mantelpiece upon which it had sat for the past four years and took it back to London without a word. He then asked his staff to enquire about the correct way of returning it to HM the Queen. Bill Oakes, Peter Brown’s personal assistant at Apple, pursued the matter, and wrote this formal memo:
The medal, with a brief explanation, should be sent to – The Secretary of the Central Chancery, 8 Buckingham Gate, London, SW1
Two optional letters should be sent to:
a) Harold Wilson. The main protest should be lodged here – presumably this letter would become public?
b) H.M. The Queen. Solicitors advise no more than a respectful, regretful note.
On 25 November 1969, John wrote the following single-sentence letter:
Your Majesty,
I am returning this MBE in 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
He then instructed his chauffeur, Les Anthony, to deliver it to Buckingham Palace, also giving him letters to deliver to the prime minister and the secretary of the Central Chancery.
Calling a press conference at the Apple headquarters, John claimed he was always uneasy about his MBE. The Beatles had, he said, been pressured into accepting their awards by Brian Epstein: ‘I always squirmed when I saw “MBE” on my letters. I didn’t really belong to that sort of world. I think the Establishment bought the Beatles with it. Now I am giving it back, thank you very much …
‘I had been mulling it over for a few years. Even as I received it, I was mulling it over. I gave it to my auntie who proudly had it over the mantelpiece, which is understandable – she was very proud of it. But I can’t not do it because of my auntie’s feelings. So I took it a few months back and didn’t tell her what I was going to do with it – no doubt she knows now. And I’m sorry Mimi, but that’s the way it goes.’
When Mimi found out what had happened, she was extremely upset: ‘If I knew what John wanted it for, I never would have given it to him.’ She clearly felt too humiliated to admit that he had taken it without asking.