the real story of Winnie (the Pooh)
By cher913
@cher913 (25781)
Canada
April 29, 2009 1:53pm CST
Winnie was a real bear. Her mother was killed by a hunter and she was bought for $20 by Canadian Lieutenant, Harry Colebourn while in training at White River, Ontario, Canada, while he was en-route to England during the First World War. Colebourn named the bear "Winnie" after his hometown in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
"Winnie" was smuggled into England by her owner. At that point, she gained theunofficial recognition as The Fort Garry Horse regimental mascot (they were a group of vetrenarians. Colebourne left Winnie at the London Zoo while he and his unit were in France; after the war she was officially donated to the zoo.
Winnie was a much loved bear and a very friendly one as humans were the only handlers she knew. She was a huge attraction at the London Zoo. Enter A.A. Milne, a Londoner who took son, Christopher Robin to see Winnie at the zoo and told Christopher Robin tales about Winnie and other toys that Christopher Robin had.
There you have it, know you know 'the rest of the story'.
1 person likes this
8 responses
@jlamela (4897)
• Philippines
15 Jul 09
I just finished answering a discussion here in mylot about the real gender of pooh, which I said a male, most of the answers also to that discussion said that pooh is a boy. But now here in your discussion you referred to pooh as "she", so that's mean pooh is a girl?
I am quite confused because when I read it from wikipedia, pooh has been said was dubbed by a male voice in an animated series, so meaning he is a boy not a girl. Goshhh..lol!
@starsailover (7829)
• Mexico
4 Oct 09
Wow i can't beleive there's a story behind winnie the pooh lol. I'd like to watch the real Winnie the pooh. Thank you very much for posting this is really interesting. Byu the way... poor winnies' mom
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
3 May 09
wow I didn't know the history behind it but I always thought a. a. milne was canadian.
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
30 Apr 09
I used to read the Winnie The Pooh stories and the Wind in the Willows when I was young, and lived in Vancouver, B.C. I really loved the stories. My Mother belonged to the Book of the Month Club and the Wind in the Willows was one of the books offered. I never knew the true story until years later. Oh and if that is not strange, about ten years after we married, we moved to Winnipeg.
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
30 Apr 09
Hi cher! I never knew the real story about Winnie the Pooh!
That is such a wonderful story! I have always loved Winnie!
She is such a wonderful little creature! I have always had
a special feeling for her! One of my special friends gave me
a Winnie the Pooh nick nack and then he was killed in a car
crash. He was only 18 years old. He was like my son! I treasured
that piece because he gave it to me and because I love Winnie
so much!
@suzzy3 (8341)
•
30 Apr 09
What an interesting story I never knew all this ,thanks for this I really enjoyed reading it.I feel that learning something new everyday makes you feel better.xxx
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
30 Apr 09
A Nice little piece of trivia! Thanks for unearthing that... So, I only knew a part of the back story to the "Winnie the Pooh" Stories,that Christopher Robin was the Writer's son and so featured in the stories written for him,but I never knew that "Pooh" had actually been named for a REAL bear named "Winnie" he'd seen at the Zoo!
@kodigo (171)
• Philippines
29 Apr 09
Whoa..this info is so cool. Now winnie the pooh is a "she" not a boy based from you story. But how come the animated "Pooh Bear" is male? A lot of children really want this pooh bear. And I'm thinking if a film inspired by this story will be created maybe by Pixar or Walt Disney, then I'll be hit.
