The Marlborough Express, New Zealand, 26 November 1907, p.6

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Etonians all over the world will learn with surprise that the famous block on which many of them have been swished has been stolen, seriously or in joke from the headmaster’s room. No trace of it has been found. It dates back to 1770, and has many historic names cut on it. The theft has been kept secret, and it is believed that the police have not been informed. Shortly after it was stolen, another was put in its place, and one not perfectly familiar with the old block would scarcely notice that the famous one is missing. It is said to have been taken in the night preceding the holidays. The difficulty of removing so great a weight from an upstairs room to which unprivileged access seems impossible from inside or outside adds to the mystery. The doors of the headmaster’s room are kept locked after school hours. One door leads into Upper School, and the other into a room where the King’s scholars assemble for prayers. A boy could from the school yard climb up the stonework at the corner of the enclosure near the school office, and reaching the narrow ledge below Upper School windows could walk along it until he came to the window of the headmaster’s room. Eton swishing blocks have been stolen before. In 1836, the day after a boat race against Westminster, three old Etonians stole one. In 1863, Lewis, a Colleger, stole the old Lower School block. This was returned to the headmaster in 1891. About 1877 an Oppidan stole the block that replaced it. It was sawn to pieces, which were nailed under the table in his room, and were not discovered till he had time to remove them.