Voytek fought right alongside the Polish troops who adopted him. He carried ammunition for the heavy mortars into battle. He smoked, he drank beer, he was a soldier.
A campaign has been launched to build a permanent memorial to a bear which spent much of its life in Scotland – after fighting in World War II.
The bear – named Voytek – was adopted in the Middle East by Polish troops in 1943, becoming much more than a mascot.The large animal even helped their armed forces to carry ammunition at the Battle of Monte Cassino.
Voytek – known as the Soldier Bear – later lived near Hutton in the Borders and ended his days at Edinburgh Zoo.
He was found wandering in the hills of Iran by Polish soldiers in 1943.
They adopted him and as he grew he was trained to carry heavy mortar rounds.
When Polish forces were deployed to Europe the only way to take the bear with them was to "enlist" him.
So he was given a name, rank and number and took part in the Italian campaign.
He saw action at Monte Cassino before being billeted – along with about 3,000 other Polish troops – at the army camp in the Scottish Borders.
The soldiers who were stationed with him say that he was easy to get along with.
"He was just like a dog – nobody was scared of him," said Polish veteran Augustyn Karolewski, 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 spent his last days at Edinburgh Zoo.
There is a video report and some small images of Voytek at the link. Voytek died in 1963 at the zoo. I mean no disrespect to the campaign to raise a separate memorial to Voytek, but somehow it seems wrong to do so. Would he not rather be part of a memorial to all of his fellows – not singled out as something else. After all, he drank a bottle of beer like any man. I think that fits. Na Zdrowie, Voytek.
(H/T to NortonPete for sending the link.)
(Side note: If you don't know about the battle of Monte Cassino, Wikipedia is a good place to start.)
I hear he was a real bear in a fight.
The memorial should be to the Polish unit that included Voytek. The Poles fought valiantly at Monte Cassino. This bear was not just their mascot; Voytek carried artillery shells to front-line units. I must ask my 90 year old friend, who also fought at “Cassino”, if he heard of this bear. He fought days earlier with the 34th Red Bull; he was a forward artillery spotter and has many stories.
The Poles were part of the British 8th Army. They fought in North Africa as well. They sufffered heavy casualties in one of the battles for Tobruk. They were fierce fighters. I can think of another instance of a bear mascot, but with a sadder ending. In the mid/late 19th century, there was a British ship with a bear mascot. The bear took to sleeping in a lifeboat. One day he woke up and rolled out of the wrong side of the boat and into the ocean. The crew beseeched the captain to turn back for him, but the captain thought it beneath the dignity of one of the Queen’s ships to turn around for an animal, and they crackered on, leaving the bear treading water. NortonPete: It would be great if you could get your friend’s stories recorded before they are gone forever.
Feeblemind, fortunately Reggie Clark still edits a newsletter called the “Battleground” which he sends out a few times a year. I know he was trying at one point to put it online but decided against it.
He fought in North Africa and took part in “Operation Torch”. Reggie then went on to be part of the invasion of Salerno, both battles at Cassino, crossing the Volturno River three times; the invasion of Anzio; the push to Rome and the Po River Valley campaign. He fought from 1941 to 1945 and received the Bronze Star (red ribbon) along with numerous other medals.
The Reggie crossed the Atlantic in a convoy that lost 8 of its 29 ships to German U-boats.
He had an unusual “gift” so to speak. Because of some degree of color blindness, Reggie could spot camouflage from great distances. He was a forward artillery observer and also spotted targets for air attacks.
He is currently as sharp as tack.