Wojtek (soldier bear)
Wojtek (1942–1963; usually spelled Voytek in English, was a Syrian brown bear cub found in Iran and adopted by soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps. During the Battle of Monte Cassino, Wojtek helped move ammunition. The name "Wojtek" or "Wojciech" is an old Slavic name that is still very common in Poland today. It derives from two words: "woj" (the stem of "wojownik", warrior, and "wojna", war); and "ciech", enjoyment. Thus the name has two meanings: "he who enjoys war" or "smiling warrior.
Voytek in the zoo: He soldiered on there until 1963The 250lb brown bear, standing more than 6ft tall, was possibly the most remarkable combatant of the Second World War, seeing action amid the hell of Monte Cassino in Italy.
After the war, he and his fellow troops were billeted in Scotland and he lived out his days in Edinburgh Zoo, dying in 1963.
Now a campaign is under way to build a permanent memorial to the remarkable animal who fought so valiantly for the Allied forces.
Voytek was just a tiny bundle of fur when he was discovered wandering in the hills of Iran by the Poles when they were driving towards Palestine in 1943.
Having lost his mother, he attached himself to the men, who fed him on condensed milk and gave him an old washing up bowl to sleep in.
Voytek soon took on many human characteristics, crying when left alone and covering his eyes with his paws if chastised.
As he grew, he became a key member of the unit, being trained to carry mortar shells.
In the heat of summer, he reportedly learned to work the shower of the unit's bath hut.
On one occasion, Voytek was delighted to find the door ajar - and discovered an Arab who was spying for a raiding party.
The intruder confessed all, and the enemy were rounded up. Hailed a hero, Voytek was given two bottles of beer and allowed to spend all morning splashing happily in the bath hut.
When the Poles were deployed to Italy in 1944 to supply Allied troops with desperately-needed food and ammunition, the only way to take their furry friend with them was to officially enlist him - so he was given a name, rank and number.
As the bitter battle for the monastery of Monte Cassino was fought, the bear travelled in the munitions trucks, his head hanging out of the window, ignoring almost constant shellfire.
Cradling 25lb shells or boxes of ammunition in his arms, he would effortlessly pass them down the line. Off-duty, he loved a bottle of beer, a cigarette and to wrestle with the men - in between raids on the cookhouse.
At the end of the war, the transport company was stationed in the village of Hutton, Berwickshire, where Voytek became a local legend.
"He was like a big dog, no one was scared of him," said Polish veteran Augustyn Karolewski, 82, who still lives near the site of the camp.
"He liked a cigarette, he liked a bottle of beer - he drank a bottle of beer like any man." When the troops were demobilised, Voytek moved to Edinburgh Zoo.
Mr Karolewski went to see him and found he still responded to the Polish language.
"As soon as I mentioned his name, he would sit on his backside and shake his head, wanting a cigarette.
"It wasn't easy to throw a cigarette to him - I made several attempts until he got one."
Teacher Garry Paulin has written a book, Voytek - The Soldier Bear, which will be published next month.
Aileen Orr, who lives in Hutton, is campaigning for a memorial. "The story is totally amazing and it would be good if we could have some memorial in Scotland, perhaps at Holyrood, to celebrate the bear's life," she said.
And like any other combatant, he is even said to have had an official name, rank and number.
Now a campaign is underway to build a permanent British memorial to the remarkable bear who fought so valiantly for the Allied forces and lived out his final days in Edinburgh Zoo.
Voytek was just a tiny bundle of fur when he was discovered wandering in the hills of Iran by the Second Polish Transport Company when they were driving through Persia towards Palestine in 1943.
Having lost his mother, he immediately attached himself to the men who fed him on condensed milk and gave him an old washing-up bowl to sleep in.
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Voytek was found by soldiers when he was just a cub but he soon became attached to the troops.Little wonder that the troops adopted him, and soon found he could be a useful addition. As he grew he was trained to carry heavy mortar rounds.
Story has it that in the heat of summer he learned to work the shower, and used it so often that the Nissen hut had to be locked to prevent him exhausting the water supply.
On one occasion, Voytek was delighted to find the door ajar. Entering the bear discovered a cowering Arab who had come to spy out the lie of the land for a raiding party, intending to steal all the weapons and ammunition.The spy confessed all, the raiding party were rounded up, and Voytek became a hero. He was given two bottles of beer and allowed to spend all morning splashing happily in the bath hut.
Voytek the 'soldier bear' was a secret weapon used by the Polish troops in World War IIHe was given a name, rank and number and when the Polish II Corps arrived in Italy in 1944 to supply their own and British frontline soldiers with desperately needed ammunition and food, Voytek was their secret weapon.
Despite almost constant heavy fire, Voytek traveled in the munitions trucks, his head hanging out of the window. He helped the supply side by cradling 25lb shells or boxes of ammunition in his arms and passing them down the line.
Off-duty, he loved nothing more than a bottle of beer, a cigarette and to wrestle with the men - in between raids on the cookhouse.
By the end of the war, Voytek had become a symbol of ursine courage, but his country was under Soviet domination, so he travelled with other Polish troops to Scotland and the Berwickshire village of Hutton.
Soldiers who were stationed with him say that he was easy to get along with.
Polish veteran Augustyn Karolewski, 82, who still lives near the site of the camp in Berwickshire, said: 'He was like a big dog, no-one was scared of him.
"He liked a cigarette, he liked a bottle of beer - he drank a bottle of beer like any man."
When the troops were demobilised, Voytek spent his last days at Edinburgh Zoo, where died in 1963.
As one of the officially enlisted "soldiers" of the company, he lived with the other men in their tents or in a special wooden crate, which was transported by truck. According to numerous accounts, during the Battle of Monte Cassino, Wojtek helped his patrons by transporting ammunition – never dropping a single crate. In recognition of the bear's popularity, the HQ approved an effigy of a bear holding an artillery shell as the official emblem of the 22nd Company (by then renamed to 22nd Transport Company).
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