entertainment
Before Pooh Was a Storybook Bear, Winnie Lived at London Zoo
As the first Winnie-the-Pooh book approaches its centenary, the history leads back to a Canadian soldier and a real black bear.
By NewsCubby Editorial Desk · Published · Updated
Winnie-the-Pooh reaches a publishing milestone this week: A. A. Milne’s first book bearing that title appeared on October 14, 1926. The name that became familiar to generations of readers began with a real black bear and a journey shaped by the First World War.
London Zoo’s history identifies the bear as Winnie, purchased in Ontario by Harry Colebourn, a veterinary officer travelling to join his regiment. He named her after Winnipeg. She accompanied the troops to England and became their unofficial mascot.
When Colebourn’s unit went to France, he left Winnie with London Zoo in December 1914. What began as temporary care became permanent: he donated her to the zoo in 1919.
Among Winnie’s visitors were Milne and his son, Christopher Robin. The zoo says Christopher Robin renamed his own teddy bear after her. That connection helped give Milne’s fictional bear his name.
CBS correspondent Tina Kraus revisited the wartime origins in a report published Sunday. The approaching anniversary is an opportunity to distinguish the real animal’s history from the fictional adventures. Monday is the start of centenary week; the book’s hundredth anniversary falls on Wednesday, October 14.