Winnipeg (1914 – 12 May 1934), or Winnie, was the name given to a female

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

that lived at

London Zoo London Zoo, also known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for science, scientific study. In 1831 o ...

from 1915 until her death in 1934. Rescued by cavalry veterinarian Harry Colebourn, Winnie is best-remembered for inspiring

A. A. Milne Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as for children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winni ...

and E. H. Shepard's character,

Winnie-the-Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character w ...

.The real-life Canadian story of Winnie-the-Pooh
" ''CBC Kids''. CBC/Radio-Canada. Retrieved 2022-01-15.

History

Upon the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in August 1914, Lt. Harry Colebourn of

The Fort Garry Horse The Fort Garry Horse is a Canadian Army Reserve armoured regiment based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is part of 3rd Canadian Division's 38 Canadian Brigade Group. It traces its history to a cavalry regiment first formed in 1912 that first took ...

, a Canadian cavalry regiment, volunteered his service. On 24 August, while en route to

Valcartier Canadian Forces Base Valcartier (CFB Valcartier), now re-designated 2 Canadian Division Support Base Valcartier (2 CDSB Valcartier), is a Canadian Forces base located in the municipality of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, north northwest of Quebec ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

to report to the Canadian Army Veterinary Corps (CAVC) as part of the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

, he purchased a young bear cub for at a train stop in

White River, Ontario White River is a township located in Northern Ontario, Canada, along Highway 17 of the Trans-Canada Highway. It was originally a rail town on the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885. Its main employers are Albert Bazzoni Ltd., A&W Restaurant, Tri ...

. The bear's mother was probably killed in the spring of 1914 when the cub was very young and could most easily have become socialized to humans. The name of the hunter who sold the bear and who presumably provided the bear's early socialization is undocumented. Colebourn named the bear "Winnipeg Bear", "Winnie" for short, after his adopted home city of

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. Winnie accompanied him to Valcartier and all the way to England, becoming the

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

of the CAVC and a pet to the Second Canadian Infantry Brigade Headquarters. According to Colebourn’s six diaries that he kept during the war, on 3 October 1914, he and Winnie departed

Gaspé Bay Gaspé Bay () is a bay located on the northeast coast of the Gaspé Peninsula, Quebec, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The town of Gaspé, Quebec lies on a part of its southern shore, while most of its northern shore is in the Forillon National Pa ...

enroute for England aboard the

S.S. Manitou The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe d ...

along with numerous other liners filled with troops heading for England. On October 17, they disembarked and left

Davenport, Greater Manchester Davenport is a district of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England; until 1974, it was part of Cheshire. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 14,924. History Davenport's name arose from the building of Davenport railway station at the ...

, for

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...

at 7:00 that morning. Before leaving for France, Colebourn left Winnie at

on 9 December 1914. Winnie's eventual destination was expected to be

Assiniboine Park Zoo Assiniboine Park Zoo is an zoo at the west end of Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It has been best known for decades for its polar bear exhibit, of which the old enclosure was replaced in 2013 with Journey to Churchill. Establis ...

, but at the end of the war, Colebourn allowed her to remain at the London Zoo, where she was much loved for her playfulness and gentleness. In 1919, the London Zoo held a dedication ceremony and erected a plaque that states Colebourn donated Winnie. Among Winnie's fans at the London Zoo was

's son

Christopher Robin Christopher Robin is a character created by A. A. Milne, based on his son Christopher Robin Milne. The character appears in the author's popular books of poetry and ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' stories, and has subsequently appeared in various Disney a ...

, who frequently visited the bear starting from 1924. Christopher Robin consequently changed the name of his own

teddy bear A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy bear, ...

from "Edward Bear" to "Winnie the Pooh" – a combination of Winnipeg Bear's name and a nickname he had given to a swan that he used to feed in the morning – providing the inspiration for his father's stories about

. In Milne's introduction to his first book about the bear, ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' (1926), he writes:

So when Christopher Robin goes to the Zoo, he goes to where the Polar Bears are, and he whispers something to the third keeper from the left, and doors are unlocked, and we wander through dark passages and up steep stairs, until at last we come to the special cage, and the cage is opened, and out trots something brown and furry, and with a happy cry of "Oh, Bear!" Christopher Robin rushes into its arms. Now this bear’s name is Winnie, which shows what a good name for bears it is, but the funny thing is that we can’t remember whether Winnie is called after Pooh, or Pooh after Winnie. We did know once, but we have forgotten...

Recognition

Assiniboine Park Zoo, Winnipeg - panoramio (1)

There are several statues and plaques commemorating Winnipeg Bear. In 1981, a statue of a bear cub by sculptor

Lorne McKean Lorne McKean (born 1939) is an English sculptor. She studied at the Guildford School of Art and the Royal Academy School, before being elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors The Royal Society of Sculptors is a British ...

was unveiled at the

, along with a plaque commemorating Winnie. A bronze statue of Winnie and Colebourn holding hands, by sculptor William Epp, stands in

Assiniboine Park Assiniboine Park (formerly known as City Park) is a park in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, located along the Assiniboine River. The Winnipeg Public Parks Board was formed in 1893, and purchased the initial land for the park in 1904. Although in use ...

, in the park's Nature Playground. Originally unveiled on 6 August 1992 at

, the statue and plaque were donated by the Kinsmen Club of Winnipeg. Epp's design is also seen in another statue at the London Zoo that was placed in 1993. Assiniboine Park also houses a small exhibit in its Pavilion Gallery called The Pooh Gallery, displaying "objects, archives, books, and works of art" that "reveal the multiple identities and histories of Winnie-the-Pooh." In 1996,

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the opera ...

issued "Winnie and Lieutenant Colebourn, White River, 1914" stamps designed by Wai Poon with art direction by Anthony Van Bruggen and computer design by Marcelo Caetano. The 45¢ stamps are perforated 12.5 x 13 mm and were printed by Ashton-Potter Limited. In 1997, a plaque was donated to the London Zoo by the town of

, where Colebourn first met Winnie. On 30 May 1999, a special plaque commemorating the service of Colebourn to

and Canadian Army Veterinary Corps was placed in the Zoo near the site of Winnie’s former home. Following Winnie's death in 1934, her skull was kept in the Odontological Museum at the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations a ...

Hunterian Museum The Hunterian is a complex of museums located in and operated by the University of Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest museum in Scotland. It covers the Hunterian Museum, the Hunterian Art Gallery, the Mackintosh House, the Zoology M ...

in London, and went on public display for the first time in 2015.Coughlan, Sea
The skull of the 'real' Winnie goes on display
at

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

, 20 November 2015

Portrayal in media

The story of Winnie the bear was portrayed in the 2004 film ''

A Bear Named Winnie ''A Bear Named Winnie'' is a 2004 made-for-television drama film directed by John Kent Harrison. It stars Michael Fassbender and David Suchet. It concerns one of the real-life inspirations behind A. A. Milne's ''Winnie-the-Pooh''. Plot At the ou ...

'', starring

Michael Fassbender Michael Fassbender (born 2 April 1977) is an Irish actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Award ...

as Colebourn and Bonkers, a 1,000-pound male

American black bear The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), also called simply a black bear or sometimes a baribal, is a medium-sized bear endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. American black bear ...

, as the adult Winnie. In 2011, Winnipeg author M.A. Appleby, whose father was a friend of Colebourn's son, wrote a children's book about the bear's life, titled ''Winnie the Bear''. In 2015, the children's book '' Finding Winnie'' by Colebourn's great-granddaughter Lindsay Mattick was published. It is richly illustrated and describes Winnipeg's story in a way that is accessible to children, though still based in facts. The book won the 2016

Caldecott Medal The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

Gallery

Image:WinnieColebourn.jpg, Winnie the Bear as a cub with a sergeant of the CAVC Image:Winnie The Pet.jpg, Winnie plays with a soldier's sleeve Image:Winnie the Bear 1915.jpg, Winnie the Bear as a cub with an unidentified Canadian soldier

References

External links