Wojtek the soldier bear

Wojtek the soldier bear: continuing on a theme of animals in human conflict

Reading the article in last month's Moravian Messenger about the role animals have played in human conflict reminded me of the famous and much-loved Syrian bear named Wojtek, adopted by soldiers of the Polish 2nd Corps. This was a major unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West, formed in 1943 in the Middle East, consisting of about 55,780 men and 1,500 women and one bear, that fought in Italy as part of the British 8th Army during World War 2.

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The young bear cub was found in the mountains of Iran by a young boy, after the cub's mother had been shot by hunters. The boy then sold the cub to a group of high staff Polish officers who were in Tehran, among the 46,000 Poles who had been released to Iran from Russian labour camps and prison camps in 1942. A young girl named Irena, a niece of a general who was among the group, fell in love with the childlike little bear so the soldiers were persuaded to buy him for her. After three months however, it became clear that Irena could not keep this wild mischievous little bear, so she gave him to the army as a mascot. He was donated to the 22nd Artillery Supply Company, and the soldiers welcomed him immediately: they bonded because, like the bear, many of them felt like orphans themselves, having lost their homes in Poland and many of their family members. They named the bear Wojtek (pronounced Voitek), from an old Slavic name which means Happy Warrior.

He was assigned special guardians, and they shared the little they had in caring for the little bear: he was fed diluted condensed milk from nippled vodka bottles, and to help keep him cool in the heat of the Middle East, a hole was dug for him in the sand and filled with water, where he could sit and keep cool. Wojtek went with the company through Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. His carers taught him what they knew, and he grew to understand their Polish calls and commands. As he grew, the soldiers engaged him in playful sport and would love to wrestle with him: no-one feared him, and Wojtek thought he was one of them. He would copy the other soldiers, drink beer from beer bottles (though it was often water he drank from the beer bottles), and even marched alongside his companions on his hind legs. When travelling with the company he usually rode on a crane behind the driver's cab; at times he climbed into the driver's cab, but only when the vehicle was at a standstill.

Wojtek the soldier bear as he was known, was enlisted officially as a soldier in the Polish army with the rank of private and was later promoted to corporal. He accompanied the 2nd Polish Corps to Italy in 1944 where he helped to move crates of ammunition, and they took part in the Italian Campaign of WW2.

After the war ended the 22nd Transport Company, including private Wojtek, was transferred to Scotland where he lived out his days. With a heavy heart the soldiers decided that the best place to ensure Wojtek's safety and future well-being was Edinburgh Zoo. They visited him there as often as they could. He seemed very sad and lonely at first, missing the company of his fellow soldiers, but his zookeepers did everything they could to keep him happy. They would put on Polish uniform jackets and learnt a few words of Polish to make him feel at home.

Earlier this year I had the great pleasure of visiting Scotland and saw the statue erected in his memory in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh. The statue is of Wojtek and his official carer Corporal Piotr Prendys and is also in honour of the Polish men and women who fought with the allies in WW2. Among them was my father Tadeusz Skiba who was also in the Polish 2nd Corps. Though he never met Wojtek, he travelled the same journey through the war. I give thanks that they lived through it, through the bad times and the good, though my father's wish (and mine) was that we may never again see another world war. I wish that God may grant us the peace that my father and millions of others fought for.

Sr Barbara Skiba

Royton

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