According to the letter, the vendor and Paul McCartney were good friends between the ages of 5 to 16, and living on the same road (Western Avenue), meant he knew Paul's family very well, playing with Paul and his brother Mike and going to the odd birthday party at their house. He also recalls being escorted by Mr. McCartney on the day they started at the Liverpool Institute. He explains the history behind the photograph, his feelings towards the school and certain teachers and how he obtained what is possibly the earliest known autograph, on a photograph of the future Beatles to have appeared on the market. Specifically he explains that the photograph was taken as a celebration of the success of Mr. F Wallard's class and that he asked all the pupils to sign the back. He remembers Paul using a school pen and dipping into an inkwell. He believes Paul was the first to sign, hence it being in the centre.
Mike McCartney in his Family Album publication recalls much about his and Paul's time at St Joseph Williams school, including a story involving the owner of this lot, and how his pet mouse met an untimely death. He also explains how due to overcrowding at the local schools the McCartneys were enrolled at this school, which involved a half-hour bus journey each morning from their home. The school has since closed and the buildings have been demolished.