Borrowed hotel teaspoon returned 83 years later

The hotel's silver teaspoon arrived with a letter of explanation

A teaspoon, taken from the Queens Hotel in Southsea in 1942, has been returned.

The silver spoon, bearing a monogram which identified it as part of the hotel's cutlery, was found in a drawer in the town of Bundanoon in New South Wales, Australia.

The finder, John White sent it back to the hotel with a letter explaining that his parents had borrowed it during a stay at the hotel during the second world war.

Pamela White, a signals officer, was stationed at Portsdown Hill and took part in communications for military operations including D-Day. Her husband, Dudley was a naval officer. They stayed at the hotel when the pair had shore leave.

Dudley and Pamela White borrowed the spoon in 1942

When Mrs White died in the 1980s the spoon was among her possessions, which were taken to her son's home in Australia. It was forgotten about until recently rediscovered.

"We thought it would be a nice gesture if we could send it back to the hotel and apologise for having it for so long and hope they hadn't missed it too much", said Mr White.

The hotel's manager, Paul Playford explained that there were no hard feelings.

"Cutlery in hotels disappear all day every day. I'm forever ordering it and replacing it", he said.

"We have a little curiosity cabinet, so it's going to live there along with the pictures and the letter."

My Playford explained that the whereabouts of the rest of the cutlery set is not known and the hotel no longer uses silver cutlery.

"I think it would be too tempting for more people to borrow it, shall we say"