When World War I broke out in 1914, Harry Coleburn, a skilled
veterinarian
enlists as a regular in the Canadian Army. On August 23, Harry
boarded a train
leaving Winnpeg that was bound for Quebec to the ocean transport
that took
Canadian soldiers overseas to England where they would eventually
be assigned
to France where the fighting was. The train stopped over in White River, Ontario and at this
platform, he
purchased a small black bear cub from a local hunter. His regiment
later
proclaimed the bear as their mascot and the bear was named Winnie
after Harry's
home town of Winnipeg. Winnie became as tame as any house pet and
was the
darling of the soldiers. When the call to France came, Harry brought the bear to the
London Zoo for
temporary safekeeping. Winnie thrived in the care of the Zoo, and
was extremely
docile and playful. He was soon one of the Zoo's main
attractions. Harry
returned from fighting in 1918 to claim his bear, but, upon seeing
the delight
Winnie brought to the Zoo's visitors, Harry went home to Canada and
Winnie
stayed on in London for the next 15 years entertaining children. Christopher Robin was born in 1920 to English author A.A. Milne
and his
wife Daphne. For his first birthday Christopher Robin received a
stuffed bear
named Edward from his mother. Boy and bear were never separated.
The Zoo was a
favorite spot for Milne family outings. At the age of 5,
Christopher Robin made
his first trip to the Zoo and met the bear from Canada. He not
only took a
shine to the live bear, but changed the name of Edward the Bear to
Winnie. The
name "Pooh" was borrowed from a swan that Christopher had
befriended
and named while on a holiday in the English countryside. A.A. Milne began crafting children's stories inspired by his
son. The first
book of Pooh stories Winnie the Pooh was published in
1926 and
featured the illustrations of E.H. Shepard. The next book The
House at
Pooh Corner , published in 1928 and were extremely popular
around the
world. Walt Disney, an avid reader of A.A. Milne bought the rights
from the
Milne Estate and Disney Studios transformed stories from the novels
into a
series of short featurette movies. Pretty amazing for a little bear from Northern Ontario!