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Wojtek statue,West Princes Street Gardens
MacLean, Kevin, 2016, Digital image
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Wojtek statue,West Princes Street Gardens
Wojtek statue,West Princes Street Gardens
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Category
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Item no
43189
Title
Statue to Wojtek the bear and the Polish men and women who fought in WW2, West Princes Street Gardens
Artist / maker
MacLean, Kevin
Date
2016
Type
Digital image
Location
Edinburgh and Scottish Collection
Wojtek, was a Syrian brown bear adopted by soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps. He was later officially enlisted as a soldier of the company with his own paybook serial number and given the rank of Private, and subsequently became a Corporal during the Battle of Monte Cassino, Wojtek helped move crates of ammunition, never dropping a single crate.
He lived with the other men in tents or in a special wooden crate, which was transported by truck. In recognition of the bear's popularity, the HQ approved a depiction of a bear carrying an artillery shell as the official emblem of the 22nd Company.
Following the end of World War II in 1945, Wojtek was transported to Berwickshire in Scotland with the rest of the 22nd Company. Wojtek soon became popular among local civilians and the press, and the Polish-Scottish Association made him one of its honorary members.
Following demobilisation on 15 November 1947, Wojtek was given to Edinburgh Zoo, where he spent the rest of his life.Wojtek died in December 1963, at the age of 21.
A statue of Wojetek by sculpture Alan Beattie Herriot was unveiled in Princes Street gardens on 7th November 2015.
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