Stolen Cambridge Uni plate returned after 115 years

The plate — taken some time after 1908 — has now been returned to Gonville & Caius College

A decorative plate stolen from a dining hall by a University of Cambridge student more than 100 years ago has finally been returned.

It is believed Gordon Stewart Wimbush pilfered the plate while he was studying at Gonville & Caius College, which he joined in 1908.

The plate is decorated with a view of Caius Court on its front and the imprint "CAIUS COLL. KITCHENS" on its back.

Mr Wimbush's widow later gave the plate to a close friend while living in Coventry, and it has finally been returned to the college, about 115 years after it went missing.

Mr Wimbush studied law and history at Caius, during which time he allegedly turned his hand to petty plate-pinching.

He later went on to serve in World War One.

The plate stayed with him and his wife, Ruth, after they moved to Coventry.

Gordon Wimbush is pictured with his wife, Ruth, who later gave the plate to a friend and neighbour in Coventry

It was given to Yvonne Browne sometime in the 1960s, when she was a neighbour and friend of the Wimbush family.

She was in her 20s at the time.

Now aged 85, and having returned to plate to Caius, she told the college: "They were the grandparents I never had - all mine had died before I was born - as well as the portal to another age, the key to a way of life now defunct but excitingly brought to life in the many anecdotes and family stories they used to tell.

"I know Gordon would have been happy for me to have [the plate], as I had been like a daughter to them.

"I look back with gratitude, as well as fondness, for the opportunity to have been in touch with these wonderful people — Edwardians to the core — with their kindness, gentle manners and refined ways.

"I gladly return the plate to its proper home in their memory," added Ms Browne.

The crockery crook's loot is now safely in the possession of the college archivist.

On its website, Caius wrote: "Although students have been known to 'pinch' items of crockery and cutlery from college meals as souvenirs, this plate... has a longer and more touching history than most."

It added college archivist James Cox described the plate's journey as "a fabulous story".