The Polish bear-soldier Wojtek accompanied the Anders Army in its march from Iran to the victorious route through Italy’s battlefields. The Polish soldiers treated Wojtek as a symbol of their unity and courage. His story will now reach the boards at Coventry’s Albany Theatre.
“A bear, famed for his love of beer, cigarettes and boxing and who was by the side of Allied troops in World War Two, has been made the subject of a play,” BBC said in an article informing about the new play at Coventry’s Albany Theatre.
In April 1942, Captain Stanislaw Nowicki’s unit was moved from Tehran to Ohvos. During one of the parties with the locals organised to kill time, the trumpeter of the unit, Zygmunt Kosinski, struck a bargain with a Persian companion at the party and bought a small bear from him.
He named him Hers, which simply meant ‘Bear’ in Persian. The little bear immediately became the favourite playmate of soldiers longing for their families and normal lives. A few months later, when his guardian was posted to Great Britain, the bear was taken in by the 22nd Artillery Supply Company, commanded by Major Antoni Chełkowski. The bear was then renamed to a more familiar name.
He was named Wojtek. He quickly became a legend and the hero of many anecdotes passed from mouth to mouth. His fame spread beyond the ranks of the 2nd Corps. The British even made a wartime newsreel about him, successfully screening for many weeks in London.
“He liked tins of honey and how neatly he picked the honey out of the tins with his paws! And also beer. He would lie down on his back, take the bottle in his front paws, put it to his mouth and wouldn’t let it go until he had finished the whole thing. He would ride with the chauffeurs on the trucks, leaning with his front paws against the chauffeur’s booth. The Arabs, especially the children, would run at the sight of it as fast as they could,” recalled Leon Stanislawki a soldier of General Anders.
Wojtek followed the Anders Army through the Middle East. In early 1944 he found himself in Italy. During the Battle of Monte Cassino, the soldier-bear became the company’s symbol. Word among soldiers was that he helped as much as he could to unload crates of ammunition. This image of a bear carrying an artillery shell became the 22nd Company’s approved official badge, which the soldiers wore on their uniforms.
After the end of the Second World War, Wojtek the Bear, along with many Polish soldiers, was transported to Scotland. He ended up in the Edinburgh Zoo, where he was visited by his company mates. Years of living among humans did not allow him to adapt to life among other bears, which posed a serious problem for Wojtek. He spent 16 years in a Scottish zoo. Wojtek died in 1963.
In recent years Wojtek became a very important symbol of Poland’s 2 World War fight for independence ending in creating monuments and countless gadgets related to the bear-soldier, loved by the Polish children.
“The story of friendship and courage has been adapted for a production at Coventry’s Albany Theatre by writer Alan Pollock from his children’s book The Bear Who Went To War,” the article says.
“The Bear Who Went to War by Alan Pollack is published by Old Barn Books and the play runs at the Albany Theatre Coventry until 2 November,” BBC informs.
WHEN: Wednesday 30th October – Saturday 2nd November 2024, 1:30pm / 6:30pm
WHERE: The Albany Theatre, Albany Road, Coventry CV5 6JQ
TICKETS: here
