Now then, how are we all?.. Good to hear.
Oh do I have a good one for you today - The wonderful, mad story of Wojtek. A bear that the polish forces took in as one of their own during the Second World War. Bear with me. Wahey
Spring, 1942 - Polish armed forces in the east left the Soviet Union heading to Iran, most of which being ex POW set to work in Siberia following the 1939 Soviet invasion of Eastern Poland.
Whilst passing through the deserts of Iran, the soldiers came across a young shepherd carrying a sack containing a Syrian brown bear cub. The bear had recently become orphaned following poachers shooting his mother.
Enamoured by his antics and friendly personality, the soldiers struck a deal with the shepherd and bought the cub, proclaiming him as their team mascot and named him Wojtek (Voi-Tec), translating to ‘Joyful Soldier’.
Wojtek was then passed on to the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps.
Wojtek & A Polish Soldier
As you’d expect, the Polish military was ill equipped to care for a bear cub, resorting to them feeding him whatever was available; indulging him with condensed milk from a vodka bottle, fruit, honey and the occasional beer/cigarette combo as a reward.
- He actually used to smoke one puff of a cigarette then just eat the rest, and also raided soldiers tents whilst they slept to steal their smokes, my man.
The larger he grew, the more he enjoyed wrestling with the boys. Thankfully no troops got too seriously injured during the scraps, but it wasn’t uncommon to walk away with a few scratches and your clothes torn to shreds.
- You’d have to pay me a lot of fucking money to wrestle a Syrian Refugee Bear.
Wojtek having some fun with the lads
As the Polish were preparing to leave Egypt to head to Italy in 1943, there were obvious issues regarding transporting the bear, and ultimately Wojtek was not allowed to accompany his friends on the trip, or so he thought.
To combat this, Wojtek was officially drafted into the Polish Army as a Private and given a Pay Book & a Serial Number. He was then subsequently promoted to the rank of Corporal.
- A bear, a fucking bear outranked the majority of Polish troops. Imagine training for years on end, to be outranked by a bear. He could salute on command, mind.
Skip ahead to ‘The Battle of Monte Cassino’ - 1944.
Wojtek is hard at work supporting the artillerymen by standing up and carrying crates of ammunition to and from the soldiers - seriously.
Following the battle, the 22nd Artillery Supply Company made their badge a logo of a bear holding an artillery shell..
Post war, Wojtek was taken to Edinburgh Zoo to spend his retirement in peace. He quickly became just as popular with the locals as he was with his comrades.
Occasionally he was visited by his old veteran friends who fought alongside him. Some of which actually climbed the fence of his enclosure to wrestle with him once more, Wojtek was more than happy to oblige.
- Family day out to the zoo and you see a Polish veteran jump the fence and wrestle a bear. Imagine explaining that one to your mate at the pub on Friday.
Wojtek The Soldier Bear passed away peacefully in 1963 at the age of 21.
- M.
On This Day -
1922 - James Joyce’s "Ulysses" was first published. Joyce was also born this day in 1882.
- I tried reading this a while back. An absolute nightmare to get through.
1653 - ‘New Amsterdam’ becomes a city, to later be named ‘New York’.
1892 - The longest boxing match recorded under modern rules - 77 rounds. The fight took place between Harry Sharpe & Frank Crosby in Nameoki, Illinois.
- Fans got their moneys worth that night.