Will the Real Winnie-the-Pooh Please Stand Up?

Is there anyone who wasn't completely in love with the "tubby, little cubby all stuffed with fluff", Winnie-the-Pooh, when they were growing up - either the books by A.A. Milne or the Disney cartoon films? But did you know that the fictional bear was based on a real bear? It's true! I just learned this fun bit of trivia.

Winnie Finds a Home

During WWI, a Canadian troop was being transported from Winnipeg to eastern Canada, on their way to a deployment in Europe. The train stopped in White River, Ontario in August 1914, where the soldiers met a hunter who had a female black bear cub for sale. The hunter had killed the mother of the cub. One of the soldiers (and a veterinarian), Lieutenant Harry Colebourn, purchased the tame bear cub for twenty dollars. Colebourn named her "Winnie," after his adopted hometown of Winnipeg, and took her across the Atlantic with him. He smuggled her into Britain and transported her to Salisbury Plain, where she became an unofficial mascot of The Fort Garry Horse, a Militia cavalry regiment. From October 1914 until December 1914, the regiment spent their time in Salisbury Plain training in preparation for deployment to France, with Winnie following them around like a pet 'dog' during their off-duty hours.

Harry Colebourn and
Winnie, 1914

Colebourn was given the order to remove Winnie from the brigade headquarters, as she would not be able to accompany them to the battlefields in France where the brigade was shortly to go. Colebourn left Winnie in the care of London Zoo in December 1914. Originally, she was destined for Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg at the end of the war, but seeing how much she was loved in London, he decided to donate her to London Zoo in 1919. Unlike her fictional namesake, the real Winnie did not like honey. But she did have a sweet tooth – her favorite treat being condensed milk –  even preferring it to raw meat. Winnie lived the remainder of her life at London Zoo before passing away in 1934. In Canada, Winnie has been recognized in many ways: a statue of Winnie and Harry Colebourn stands in Assiniboine Park in the park's Nature Playground; Canada Post issued a stamp, in 1996, bearing the images of Winnie and Colebourn, and finally, she was memorialized in a 2004 CBC Television movie, A Bear Name Winnie, with Michael Fassbender portraying Harry Colebourn. The movie is available for streaming on YouTube.

Winnie Becomes a Fiction Star

It was at the London Zoo where Milne’s young son, Christopher Robin first met Winnie. By the mid-1920s, British writer A.A. (Alan Alexander) Milne had already achieved success as a humorist for Punch Magazine and as a playwright and mystery author. Had it not been for the birth of Christopher, Milne might never have written for children and become one of the most famous writers in history.

On Christopher's first birthday in August 1921, his mother gave him a small stuffed bear purchased from Harrods, the upmarket department store in London. The Alpha Farnell teddy bear was about two feet tall, light in color, and frequently lost its eyes. Originally, the bear was called Edward, and sometimes Big Bear or Teddy Bear, but eventually it was named Winnie, after the bear Christopher had met at London Zoo. 

Inspired by both the stuffed and real bear, A.A Milne began to write his tales. Eeyore, Piglet, Tigger, Kanga, and Roo were all stuffed animals belonging to young Christopher, while Rabbit and Owl were real life creatures that lived near them. (The name “Pooh” came from a swan the family had met while on holiday.)

Published in 1926, the first collected stories of the adventures in "Hundred Acre Wood", entitled Winnie-the-Pooh, were an instant hit. It was followed by the equally successful The House at Pooh Corner, in 1928. Winnie also appeared in two books of children's verse by Milne: When We Were Very Young (1924) and Now We are Six (1927). The beautiful illustrations provided by E. H. Shepherd brought these stories to life and can be credited with adding to the charm and success of the books.

It is interesting to note that both Shepherd and Christopher Robin came to resent the fictional bear. Shepherd believed that the Pooh illustrations overshadowed his other work. Initially, Christopher was fond of being associated with his father's books, that is until he started school, where he was often mocked by his peers as they recited passages from the books to him. Additionally, when he was a young man serving in World War II, he felt that his father exploited his childhood and forced him to be in the public eye.

Disney Transforms Winnie

The stories about Pooh became a favorite of Walt Disney’s daughters, therefore Disney, who trusted his daughters’ tastes in books, decided to purchase the rights to the stories and turn them into animated films. The first film featuring Pooh was released in 1966 and quickly made Pooh one of the most popular Disney character of all time.

Disney’s creators gave Pooh a makeover, which is whimsical and endearing in its own right, but I always prefer the classic illustrations from the original books. The cuddly toys that inspired the stories also have become iconic, and Christopher Robin’s bear is currently on display at the main branch of the New York Public Library, in New York City.

Much loved by young and old alike, the Pooh stories have been translated into many languages, including Hungarian physician, writer, painter, poet Alexander Lenard's Latin translation, Winnie ille Pu, which was first published in 1958, and, in 1960, became the only Latin book ever to have been featured on The New York Times Best Seller list. I believe that the "willy, nilly silly old bear" and his Hundred Acre Wood friends will continue to charm both parents and children alike for centuries to come.

What are your favorite memories of Winnie-the-Pooh?

The original stuffed animals owned by Christopher Robin:
Piglet, Kanga, Winnie-the-Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger. (1925)
New York Public Library