Sunday, September 27, 2009

Beatle's essay found 50 years on

Paul McCartney in 1953An essay written by Sir Paul McCartney as a 10-year-old has been found after lying undiscovered in Liverpool's Central Library for more than 50 years.

Years before the Beatles received their MBEs, he beat hundreds of other school children to win a prize for his 1953 essay marking the Queen's coronation.

In neat handwriting, he refers to "the lovely young Queen Elizabeth".

In 2013, the library will display the essay - found in a scrapbook - to mark the 60th anniversary of the coronation.

Thought to be one of the earliest surviving written works by Sir Paul, the essay gave him an early taste of appearing in public.

Liverpool's Lord Mayor presented him with the prize - despite the work having been marked down for grammatical errors.

McCartney's neat writing has the same curly ends on capital letters which he used later on the "B" of "Beatles" on the group's drum skin.

The schoolboy compares the happy scenes expected outside Buckingham Palace with the coronation of William the Conqueror nine centuries earlier, when a massacre of Saxons took place.

He declares that Britain's "present day royalty rules with affection rather than force".

via BBC NEWS | UK | Beatle's essay found 50 years on.

Paul has fantastic handwriting.  Follow the BBC news link above for the video.

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