The True Story of Winnie the Pooh -- SHE was amazing!
Original article here: LINK
In 1914, Harry Colebourn, a Canadian veterinarian, shipped out of Canada to England, part of the Royal Canadian Army Veterinarian Corps, to treat horses that were attached to the English Army in WWI. As he got off his train at a platform in Ontario, he saw a small bear cub, attached to a string held by a trapper. On an impulse, he bought the bear cub for $20, and proceeded on his journey.
Harry named the bear Winnie, for his native Winnipeg, and boarded the ship for England with his bear in tow. The bear stayed with Harry, becoming the regimental mascot, through long months of training in miserable weather.
When it became time to deploy to France, Harry realized that Winnie would not be safe in a war environment. He contacted the London Zoo, who agreed to care for Winnie, while her owner was away in the war.
That real-life bear, represented in statues in London and Winnipeg, as well as in historical photos and documents, is the one now known as Winnie the Pooh! As readers can find in Lindsay Mattick's new picture book, "Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear", there really was a Christopher Robin, too! It turns out that Lindsay Mattick is the great grand-daughter of Harry, and knew that Winnie's story needed to be told!
This is an illustration from Mattick's book, illustrated by Sophie Blackall:
Winnie was in the army now. Harry taught her to stand up straight and hold her head high and turn this way and that, just so!
Soon, she was assigned her own post. Even the Colonel agreed that Winnie was a Remarkable Bear. She might have been the best navigator in the whole army.
If you hid something, could she find it? She could! What if it was father away? And farther still? “Remarkable!” he cried.
Mattick's book is only the beginning of the story. A. A. Milne, an author of many quiet "think pieces" about the war and it's aftermath, married and had a son, whom he named Christopher Robin. As Christopher Robin grew, his father wrote stories for him, eventually publishing two books. His inspiration? Winnie, of Ontario, Canada.
The Hundred Acre Wood, where most of the Winnie the Pooh stories in the books, are set, is actually Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, (southeast England), where A. A. Milne and his family lived. E. H. Shepherd used the wooded area as his inspiration for his illustrations, and Christopher Robin has remarked that Ashdown Forest and the Hundred Acre Wood are one and the same.
Thanks to A. A. Milne, Harry's, Christopher Robin's, and Winnie's story lives on, in the hearts of millions of children.
"What day is it?" asked Pooh.
"It's today," squeaked Piglet.
"My favorite day," said Pooh.
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LINK to Harry's bio--
Well, for literary works, and history, I thought this was neat! I loved Winnie the Pooh as a child, long before Disney got involved with it-- and still read them, occasionally... I have old vinyl records of Claude Rains narrating them! They were GREAT! I must have listened to them 500 times...
Hope you enjoy the True Story of Winnie the Pooh!
If you want to see the original stuffed toys, whose owner was Christopher Robin, they are in the New York Public Library, on display!
Touchingly beautiful. Thanks for posting this.
Thank you, dear Buzz! I always feel a special affinity for WWI soldiers, because my beloved Uncle Louie was there. In fact, It was Uncle Louie who made sure i had copies of Winnie the Pooh!
More interesting articles about Winnie...
Harry had every intention of keeping Winnie after the war, and bringing her back to Canada with him. But the loving care the bear had received at the hands of the London Zoo, and Winnie's loving nature, had made the bear a major attraction to the zoo. Harry donated Winnie to the zoo, and she became very famous!
A. A. Milne used to visit the zoo with his son, Christopher, (full name: Christopher Robin Milne), which is where he learned about Winnie and the regiment that had taken the bear to its heart. Christopher named his own stuffed bear, Winnie, and the rest is history.
Harry Colebourn died in 1947 and is buried in Brookside Cemetery, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. LINK. Christopher was even allowed inside the bear's cage, because Winnie was so loving and trustworthy! LINK .
Wonderful story Dowser, thanks for posting it.
Thanks, Kavika! I've been choked up over it all day-- I clung to the world of Pooh when I was a kid! Now, I can see why Uncle Louie insisted I read them..
Six - love this! Feel like it's bonus day on NT
It is lovely Lynne. Beautiful song about a beautiful subject. Glad you enjoyed it as I did as well.
I've always loved this song! They were truly gifted artists, and they captured the spirit of the stories... A peaceful world!
I feel sure that A. A. Milne created the world of Christopher Robin as an ideal to strive for... Peace, simple pleasures, gentle humor, and contentment. A positive, upbeat attitude. Yep, something to strive for!
Thanks for posting such a beautiful article. Was talking to my Granddaughter and told her all about Winnie...like me, she had no idea and was moved by the story.
I've shared it with my family and a few friends... My son never really was "taken" by Winnie the Pooh, or at least, not as much as I was, so while he thought this was a touching story, he has not been as joyful as I to learn this much!
Kanga and Roo ? I'm feeling schizoid !
I always loved Kanga and Roo!! Did you read these as a child? I'll never forget when Piglet took a ride in Kanga's pouch...
is never it!
this flying will really to
If I take
is never it!
this flying will really to
If I take
Dear little Piglet's words-- not mine... I always thought that Winnie had some laugh out loud moments!
Lovely, Dowser!
Thank you.
I'm so glad you liked it-- The more I read, the more I looked up stuff, and it seems that their lives were intertwined in so many ways that people just can't imagine!
I loved those books so much!
Dowser
What a heartwarming and inspirational story.
Thanks for posting it - Winnie the Pooh and crew inhabited our through the childhood of the children and two grandchildren and I still have a stuffed bear on top of a book shelf in the den.
The quote about "today" was something our son sent to us when his mom was so sick last year - inspirational for sure
Thanks again
Thanks for coming by and for the special memory of what Today means! It helps to have a positive attitude! (Or at least it does me...)
Take care!