UBC Reports | Vol. 48 | No. 9 | July 4, 2002

Assault on King George

The mystery of the missing sword.

By Helen Lewis

It was the mid-'70s and King George V had been dead for more than 40 years when some rogue stole his sword.

The dignity of George's statue, which stands by the Woodward Biomedical Library, took a serious blow when some students made off with his sword in the dead of night.

For years, passersby placed soda cans and Styrofoam cups in his empty bronze hand -- just where the sword should have been.

Twenty-five years passed before a mystery caller telephoned the UBC President's office, saying he was one of the students who had stolen the sword. For a quarter-century, it had taken pride of place in his rec room before his conscience got the better of him. Now, the former student said, he had returned the sword to the scene of the crime.

Campus Security officers found the King George's sword lying under some bushes near the statue, and Plant Operations staff returned it to its rightful home.

Lesson learned -- the sword is now bolted in place.