On this day: John Lennon returned his MBE to the Queen, as an act of protest against the Vietnam war.

John’s chauffeur Les Anthony returned the insignia of the award to Buckingham Palace in the morning, also delivering handwritten letters to the Queen, prime minister Harold Wilson, and the secretary of the Central Chancery, explaining his actions.

The letters were written on notepaper headed Bag Productions, the company Lennon had recently set up with Yoko Ono.

Your Majesty,
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


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