This Polish soldier and his ursine colleague form a charming sculpture that stands in Edinburgh’s Princes Street Gardens. Created by sculptor Alan Heriot, it was unveiled in November 2015.
Wojtek in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, August 2016
The bear was rescued as a cub in the Middle East in 1943 after his mother was killed by hunters. He was later adopted by some Polish soldiers who cared for him and named him Wojtek. They incorporated him into army life by training him to carry heavy mortar rounds and when the forces were deployed to Europe the only way to take him with them was to “enlist” him. He was drafted into the Polish Army as a Private and was listed among the soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company.
At the end of the World War 2, the 22nd Company was transported to Berwickshire in Scotland and Wojtek, of course, accompanied them. When the Polish soldiers were demobilised he was taken to Edinburgh Zoo where he resided until his death in 1963.
Copyright Debbie Smyth, 27 September 2016
Part of Thursday Special: Companionable
And a thank you to Restless Jo for reminding me about Wojtek in her walk around Edinburgh
Travel with Intent 
What a fascinating story, and what an appropriate post for this week’s Monday Walks . . lovely connection with Jo 🙂
LikeLike
It’s a beautiful story related with my country 🙂
Great post and photos, too
LikeLike
Your men did a great job and I’m sure that bear boosted their morale
On Wed, Sep 28, 2016 at 5:55 PM, Travel with Intent wrote:
>
LikeLike
This is wonderful, Debbie. Both captures are just great. Thank you 🙂
LikeLike
You are very welcome 🙂
On Wed, Sep 28, 2016 at 7:56 AM, Travel with Intent wrote:
>
LikeLike
Thank you so much for sharing this, Debs! Your photos are magnificent, and befit the story. He was surrounded by a group of giggling girls when I spotted him 🙂 🙂
LikeLike
I think he is very popular with the Polish who live in the area. And he always seems hard to get a good photo of. Crowds and light get in the way! This took quite a bit of editing.
It’s a great story though, isn’t it. And I’d never heard of it before spotting him from the bus stop up above! And using good old Wikipedia.
Sent from my iPhone
>
LikeLike
Great story 🙂 I can’t remember whether I first heard about him from Meg or my Polish family. Checking out soon. Take care, Debs 🙂
LikeLike
What an interesting story! Who knew??!!
LikeLike
It’s a very interesting combination – survival for the bear and it must have given teh soldiers some missing hope and affection at a very difficult time. Sadly, the bear ended up drinking beer and smoking, but I think the full story is positive
On Tue, Sep 27, 2016 at 8:43 PM, Travel with Intent wrote:
>
LikeLike
Not fair on the bear. 😦
LikeLike
Animal welfare is understood much better now, in some parts of the world, at least. In war times, over 70 years ago, I think he was lucky to survive. And hopefully he helped people to love and respect these amazing animals.
Sent from my iPhone
>
LikeLiked by 1 person
“The bear necessities…” [sing]
LikeLike
Brilliant! 😁
On Tue, Sep 27, 2016 at 8:58 PM, Travel with Intent wrote:
>
LikeLike