The Heart-Melting Story Of Wojtek, The Soldier Bear

The Heart-Melting Story Of Wojtek, The Soldier Bear

In the small market town of Duns in the Scottish Borders stands a huge statue of a bear carrying an artillery shell. It is a powerful reminder of a brave and loyal ‘soldier’.

This is going to be one of the most extraordinary war stories you’ve ever heard. The story is about a soldier bear named Wojtek.

Who was the Wojtek the Soldier Bear? :
Wojtek was a Syrian Brown Bear bought, at a railway station in Iran, by Polish soldiers who had been evacuated from Soviet Union.

His Life:
At a railroad station in Hamadan, Iran, on 8 April 1942, Polish soldiers encountered a young Iranian boy who had found a bear cub whose mother had been shot by hunters. Among soldiers there was a 18 years old civilian refugee girl, Irena (Inka) Bokiewicz. She convinced Lieutenant Anatol Tarnowiecki to buy the young bear. The bear spent the next 3 months in a Polish refugee camp established near Tehran, under Inka’s care. In August, the bear was donated to the 2nd Transport Company, which later became the 22nd Artillery Supply Company, and he was named Wojtek by the soldiers. Name Wojtek comes from old slavic name Wociech which means “Happy Warrior”. So he, basically, became The Happy Warrior Wojtek.
Wojtek had a swallowing problem. He was fed “Sgushonka” - Condensed Milk from an old vodka bottle. He eventually started eating fruit, marmalade, honey, and syrup. He was taught how to drink beer. It became his favourite drink. He also learned to smoke/eat cigarettes, drink coffee in the mornings. He enjoyed wrestling with the soldiers and was taught to salute when greeted. He basically, copied the other soldiers. All civilians and soldiers liked him. he became unofficial mascot to all units stationed in the area. Together with soldiers he traveled through Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. By the time of the Battle of the Monte Cassino, he weighted 200 pounds/14 stones/91 kgs.

From Egypt, Polish soldiers were reassigned to fight alongside the British 8th Army in Italy. Regulations for the British transport ship which was to carry them to Italy forbade mascot and pet animals. To get around this restriction, Wojtek was officially drafted into the Polish Army as a private and listed among the soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company. Henryk Zacharewicz and Dymitr Szawlugo were assigned as his caretakers.

As an enlisted soldier with his own paybook, rank, and serial number, he lived with the other men in tents or in a special wooden crate. During the Battle of Monte Cassino Wojtek helped his unit carrying heavy artillery shells, never dropping any of them. Wojtek carried boxes that normally required 4 men, which he would stack onto a truck or other ammunition boxes. This service at Monte Cassino earned him promotion to the rank of corporal. In recognition of Wojtek's popularity, a depiction of a bear carrying an artillery shell was adopted as the official emblem of the 22nd Company.

After the end of World War II in 1945, Wojtek was transported to Scotland and stationed at the airfield near Scottish Borders with with the rest of the 22nd Company. Wojtek soon became popular among local civilians and the press.

After demobilisation in 15 November 1945 he was given to Edinburgh Zoo where he spent the rest of his life. He was often visited by journalists and former Polish soldiers, some of whom tossed cigarettes for him to eat. He was a frequent guest on BBC’s “Blue Peter” programme for children.

Wojtek died in December 1963, at the age of 21, partly of damage to his esophagus, perhaps from swallowing cigarettes. At the time of his death he weighed nearly 35 stone (490 lb; 220 kg), and was over 6 feet (1.8 m) tall.

Legacy:
Plaque in the Imperial War Museum
Sculpture by David Harding in the Sikiorski Museum
Monument to Wojtek in Jordan Park in Krakow
Monument to Wojtek in West Princess Street Garden in Edinburgh