'Soldier Bear' was adopted in the Middle East by Polish troops in 1943 - IRAN
Honour sought for 'Soldier Bear' was adopted in the Middle East by Polish troops in 1943 - IRAN
Voytek was billeted in the Borders (Imperial War Museum)
Archive footage
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.
He liked a cigarette, he liked a bottle of beer - he drank a bottle of beer like any man
Augustyn Karolewski
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.
Mr Karolewski went back to see him on a couple of occasions and found he still responded to the Polish language.
"I went to Edinburgh Zoo once or twice when Voytek was there," he said.
"And 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 - all the attempts I made until he eventually got one."
Voytek was a major attraction at the zoo until his death in 1963.
Eyemouth High School teacher Garry Paulin is now writing a new book, telling the bear's remarkable story.
'Totally amazing'
Local campaigner Aileen Orr would like to see a memorial created at Holyrood to the bear she says was part of both the community and the area's history.
She first heard about Voytek as a child from her grandfather, who served with the King's Own Scottish Borderers.
"I thought he had made it up to be quite honest but it was only when I got married and came here that I knew in fact he was here, Voytek was here," she said.
"When I heard from the community that so few people knew about him I began to actually research the facts.
"It is just amazing, the story is totally amazing."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/south_of_scotland/7208505.stm
Published: 2008/01/25 11:21:26 GMT
17:29 گرينويچ - شنبه 26 ژانويه 2008 - 06 بهمن 1386
خرس ایرانی، سرباز ارتش لهستان
در دوران جنگ جهانی دوم بیشتر از 3000 سرباز لهستانی نزدیک شهر هاتن در کنار مرز اسکاتلند مستقر بودند که در میان این سربازها یکی شان بیشتر مورد توجه قرار داشت، او "وویچک"، خرس ایرانی بود.
این خرس در جنگ های مختلف در اروپا و خاورمیانه همراه دیگر سربازان شرکت داشت.
این خرس را سربازان لهستانی در سال 1943 در کوه دره های ایران یافته و برای حمل خمپاره های سنگین آموزش داده بودند.
وقتی نیروهای مسلح لهستانی برای جنگ در اروپا مستقر شدند، تنها راهی که می توانستد وویچک را با خود به اروپا ببرند این بود که رسماً این خرس را برای خدمت در ارتش ثبت نام کنند.
بنابراین، به او نام و درجه و نمره مخصوص ارتشی دادند و بعد او را سوار کشتی و روانه ایتالیا کردند.
پس از شرکت در نبرد موته کازینو در ایتالیا به او نشان افتخار (سربازی) لهستان دادند.
اگوستین کارولوفسکی، کهنه سرباز لهستانی که در زمان جنگ جهانی دوم همراه با وویچک در پایگاهی نظامی نزدیک مرز اسکاتلند مستقر بوده، خاطرات خوبی از او دارد.
یکی از آن خاطرات این است که کسی از وويچک واهمه نداشت، او خیلی با سربازان براحتی انس می گرفت، حتی وویچک گاه گداری با سربازان آبجو می نوشید و سیگار هم می کشید.
بعد از پایان جنگ، وویچک را به باغ وحش شهر ادینبورگ، پایتخت اسکاتلند منتقل کردند و او تا هنگام مرگش در سال 1963، مورد توجه بازدیدکنندگان از باغ وحش بود.
The hero bear who went to war (and loved a smoke and a beer)
By BETH HALE - More by this author »
Last updated at 22:23pm on 25th January 2008
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Like any soldier, he loved to relax with a cigarette and a bottle of beer when out of the firing line.
But in the heat of battle, he became an inspiring figure - bravely passing ammunition along to supply the guns.
All the men in the Second Polish Transport Company agreed that the recruit they called Voytek was the perfect comrade.
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Voytek in the zoo: He soldiered on there until 1963
As for Voytek, he was just happy to be part of the unit... ever ready to lend a helping paw.
The 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.
Voytek was found by soldiers when he was just a cub but he soon became attached to the troops
Voytek soon took on many human characteristics, including crying like a baby whenever his master left him and covering his eyes with his great paws when he was chastised.
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 II
When Polish forces were deployed to Europe the only way to take the bear with them was to enlist him.
He 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 travelled 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.
Mr Karolewski went back to see him on a couple of occasions and found he still responded to the Polish language.
He explained: "I went to Edinburgh Zoo once or twice when Voytek was there.
"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 - all the attempts I made until he eventually got one."
Teacher Garry Paulin has written a book Voytek -The Soldier Bear, which will be published next month. Campaigner Aileen Orr, who lives in the village of Hutton, said she first heard about Voytek as a child from her grandfather who served with the King's Own Scottish Borderers.
She said: "I thought he had made it up to be quite honest but it was only when I got married and came here that I knew in fact he was here, Voytek was here.
"It is just amazing, 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."
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