The origin of Pooh is traced back to a Canadian officer from Winnipeg, Manitoba named Harry Colebourn. He had been trained at the Ontario Veterinary College. The troops were being transported to eastern Canada on their way overseas to Europe where they would join the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade. Along the way the train stopped at White River, Ontario, where Lieutenant Colebourn bought a small female black bear cub for $20 from a hunter who had killed its mother. He named her Winnie after his hometown.

The bear became the mascot of the Brigade and followed the soldiers throughout their camp on the Salisbury Plain. When the Brigade was posted to the battlefields of France, Colebourn took Winnie to the London Zoo for a long loan. He survived the war and formally presented the London Zoo with Winnie in December 1919. Winnie quickly became a favorite with the visitors. He had become so popular in fact that people flocked to see him.

Being one of these visitors, Author Alan Alexander took his son Christopher Robin to see the great bear. Winnie became his favorite at the zoo, and he often spent time inside the cage with him. Christopher Robin liked him so much that he decided to rename his teddy bear 'Winnie the Pooh', who had formerly been 'Edward Bear'.

A.A. Milne started to write a series of books about Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin, and their friends at Hundred Aker Wood. Their friends Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga and Roo were based on other stuffed animals that Christopher Robin had. The other characters Rabbit and Owl were based on animals that lived in the surrounding area of Milne's country home Cotchford Farm in Ashdown Forest, Sussex which was the basis of Hundred Aker Wood itself.

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page