The licence that may have allowed Paul McCartney to drive his car down a long and winding road is going under the hammer this month.

Ewbank’s Auctioneers will offer the Beatle’s original 1960s driving licence as one of the highlights in its two-day sale of pop culture and historical memorabilia, taking place on Thursday, November 13 and Friday, November 14.

Issued by the Greater London Council on Tuesday, September 24, 1968, and valid until 1971, the red cloth-covered board licence lists McCartney’s home address as 7 Cavendish Avenue, St John’s Wood NW8 — just a short walk from Abbey Road.

It bears his signature in blue felt pen and even notes two minor motoring offences, one in Coventry in February 1968 and another in Bath in May 1969. The licence is housed in its original red “Cartier International Services” pouch and offers a rare glimpse into the everyday life of a Beatle at the height of his fame. It carries a pre-sale estimate of £800 to £1,200.

The Music Memorabilia auction, which opens the event on Thursday, November 13 at 9.30am, also features three handwritten letters from a young Steven Morrissey, dating from around 1979 — years before he co-founded The Smiths.

Sent to a record collector who had placed an advert in Sounds magazine seeking records by Sparks, the letters reveal Morrissey’s early wit and self-awareness. One is signed “In Poverty” beside a smiley doodle, another “Stay in the Swing” on Snoopy-headed paper. Each of the three lots carries a guide price of £1,300 to £2,500.

Guitar enthusiasts will find plenty to admire among 42 separate lots from a single vendor. Highlights include a Rickenbacker 660 Tom Petty Limited Edition 12-string, personally signed by Petty, complete with hard case and accessories, £4,000 to £6,000. Also included is a 1977/78 Beacon Avenue Elementary Grade 5 school photograph of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, valued between £100 and £200.

The following day’s sale, Film, TV, Political & Historical Memorabilia, begins at 2pm on Friday, November 14. Its centrepiece is the Greg Dupre Collection — items from a crew member who worked on Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and 007: Octopussy.

The Star Wars section focuses on the snowbound Hoth sequences filmed in Finse, Norway, and includes an original Rebel Trooper hat with radio transmitter, valued at £15,000 to £30,000. A production-used clapperboard marked for director Peter MacDonald and cameraman Geoff Glover, dated April 3, 1979, is estimated at £10,000 to £15,000, while Dupre’s full Norwegian crew outfit — complete with blue ski jacket, trousers, balaclava, boots and white “camera” armband — carries an estimate of £7,000 to £12,000.

Around 177 personal photographic slides taken on location at Finse by Dupre, showing behind-the-scenes activity, crew and explosions, are guided at £1,500 to £3,000. A pewter tumbler and Finse Hotel menu engraved “Tank you Star Wars from Finse Hotel March 1979” are valued at £800 to £1,200. From the Bond franchise, a clapperboard used during Octopussy (1983), dated October 28, 1982, is estimated at £3,000 to £6,000.

Television memorabilia is represented by the Andrew Sachs Collection of Fawlty Towers items, including his personal working script for the classic episode “Basil the Rat” — incomplete but heavily annotated — estimated at £800 to £1,200. The series’ 1979 Radio Industries Club Celebrity Award trophy is also offered, valued at £300 to £500.

Two further lots carry particularly unusual provenance. A prototype Crystal of Truth from Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal (1982) comes with a handwritten greetings card from Henson explaining why the design was rejected, estimated at £1,000 to £1,500. An Arne Jacobsen cutlery set, used in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and later gifted by David Bowie to a crew member on the set of Labyrinth (1986), is estimated at £400 to £600.

Ewbank’s Auctions, based in Surrey, has built a strong reputation for uncovering museum-grade artefacts from film, television and music. This sale is expected to attract international attention from collectors and fans alike.

For valuations, contact Ewbank’s on 01483 223101 or email [email protected]. Valuations are available from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, with jewellery by appointment. View the full catalogue and register for live bidding at www.ewbanks.co.uk.