Wojtek (soldier bear)

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Wojtek[1] (1942-1963; ['vɔjtɛk]) usually spelt Voytek in Britain, was a Syrian Brown Bear cub adopted by soldiers of the 22 Kompania Zaopatrywania Artylerii (2nd. Artillery Supply Company) of the Polish II Corps. During the Battle of Monte Cassino, Wojtek helped to move ammunition.

In 1942 a local boy found a bear-cub near Hamadan in Persia (Iran). He sold it to the soldiers of the Polish Army stationed nearby for a couple of canned meat tins. As the bear was less than a year old, it initially had problems swallowing and was fed with condensed milk from an emptied vodka bottle. The bear became quite an attraction for soldiers and civilians alike, and soon became an unofficial mascot of all units stationed nearby. Because of that, it was officially drafted into the Polish Army and was listed among the soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps. Together with it he moved to Iraq and then through Syria, Palestine and Egypt to southern Italy.

The bear was fed with fruits, marmalade, honey and syrup, and was often rewarded with beer, which became his favourite drink. He also enjoyed eating cigarettes[2]. As one of the officially enlisted "soldiers" of the company, he was sleeping with the other men in their tents or in a special wooden crate transported on lorries. According to numerous accounts, during the Battle of Monte Cassino Wojtek helped his patrons by transporting ammunition - and never dropped any crate. In recognition of the bear's popularity the HQ approved an effigy of a bear holding an artillery shell as the official emblem of the 22nd Company (by then renamed to 22nd Transport Company).

Following the end of World War II in 1945, the bear (along with parts of the II Corps) was transported to Berwickshire in Scotland. Stationed in the village of Hutton, near Duns, Wojtek soon became popular among local civilians and the press. The Polish-Scottish Association made Wojtek one of its honorary members. Following the demobilization, on November 15, 1947, Wojtek was given to the Edinburgh Zoo. There Wojtek spent the rest of his days, often visited by journalists and former Polish soldiers, some of whom would toss him cigarettes.[3] Wojtek died in December of 1963, at the age of 22. At the time of his death he weighed nearly 500 pounds (250 kilograms) and had a length of over 6 feet (180 centimetres).

The media attention contributed to Wojtek's popularity. He was a frequent guest of BBC's Blue Peter program. Among memorial plaques commemorating the bear-soldier are a stone tablet in the Edinburgh Zoo, plaques in the Imperial War Museum and the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, as well as a monument in Sikorski's Museum in London. There are proposals to erect a memorial in Edinburgh[4]. It is said that Prince Charles, when visiting the Imperial War Museum with his sons, remarked to the guide that there was no need to tell the story of Wojtek since all three of them knew it well.

[edit] Notes and references

In-line:

  1. ^ A diminutive form of the name of Wojciech
  2. ^ (Polish) "Wojtek wraca", Polityka, page 11, 2 February 2008
  3. ^ The hero bear who went to war (and loved a smoke and a beer) | the Mail on Sunday
  4. ^ Tribute to Voytek, the smoking, drinking fighting, soldier bear - Scotsman.com News

General:

[edit] External links