She's got (half) a ticket to ride: Beatles fan, 61, hunts for childhood friend to retrieve other half of signed ticket which could be worth a small fortune It was February 1962 and a breathless Beatles fan had just been to see the Fab Four in concert. Setting the seal on her euphoria, she managed to get every member of the band to sign her ticket with love and kisses. Later, in the ultimate act of friendship, she shared the prized ticket with a schoolmate, tearing it in two and giving up the piece signed by John Lennon, George Harrison and Pete Best, the band's original drummer, while keeping the section autographed by her heart-throb Paul McCartney. Fast forward to today, and that lucky friend, Susan Popland, now 61, is on a mission to make contact with the concert-goer and reunite the tattered fragments. She is selling her half of the ticket at auction today - but it would more than double in value if it was sold with the all-important McCartney signature. She doesn't have a clue if the friend, Maureen Bradley, will still have the crucial item... as they have not seen each other for 40 years. Mrs Popland was best friends with Maureen's older sister Vivian, but it was Maureen who went to the concert in Birkenhead, near Liverpool and shared her ticket. The three girls drifted apart as they grew older. Mrs Popland, from Stretford, Manchester, said: "I was a huge fan of The Beatles. I used to collect all of their memorabilia. I'd like to find Maureen and Vivian, but I don't know how to go about it. It's just a shame as the ticket would be worth so much more as a whole. The ticket is due to be auctioned today at Omega Auctions in Stockport. Mrs Popland's half of the ticket is valued at between £1,500 and £2,000. If it were reunited with the missing signature, its value would rocket to upwards of £5,000. Starting out: McCartney, Lennon, Best and Harrison in 1962 Maureen went to see The Beatles just months before the band's original drummer Best left the group to make way for Ringo Starr in August 1962. The auction coincides with the 50th anniversary of the first Beatles album release, Please Please Me. Auctioneer Paul Fairweather said: "If the ticket was complete and included Paul McCartney then I am confident that this would sell for more than £5,000. If the owner of the other half is out there and still has it, now is the time to dig it out.