In 1926, a small, “hunny”loving bear was first published by British author A.A. Milne and became a beloved character. Today, Disney and millions of fans celebrate the official 100-year milestone of the original Winnie-the-Pooh book.
Long before he was a Disney star, Pooh was real. The true story of his origin is not a fairy tale, but rather a bond forged on the brink of global warfare.
The journey began on August 24, 1914, in the small lumber town of White River, Ontario. A 27-year-old Canadian soldier and veterinarian, Lieutenant Harry Colebourn, stepped off a military transport to stretch his legs. There, he spotted a trapper holding a helpless seven-month-old black bear cub on a leash. The trapper had shot the mother but didn’t harm the orphan.
Colebourn, a lifelong animal lover, instantly connected with the cub. He purchased her for $20, carried her aboard the train, and named her Winnipeg aka Winnie, his hometown.
Winnie quickly became the official mascot of the Fort Garry Horse cavalry regiment. During training camps in Quebec, she slept under Colebourn’s cot, followed him like a puppy, and climbed tent poles to the delight of the soldiers. Colebourn trained her using a mixture of apples, condensed milk, and corn syrup.
When the regiment sailed for England, Winnie went with them, offering a vital source of joy to the young men preparing for the brutal realities of World War I.
By December 1914, Colebourn received the call to the Western Front. Knowing the trenches of France were not a place for a bear, he took Winnie to the London Zoo for safekeeping, promising the bring her home to Canada when the war ended.
Colebourn survived the horrors of the front lines, caring for the many military horses critical to the war effort. Whenever he got leave, he traveled back to London to visit his beloved bear.
Over those four long years, Winnie grew into an adult, but she remained remarkably gentle. Zookeepers noted she was the tamest bear they had ever hosted. She was so gentle that the zoo permitted young children into the bear habitat to ride on her back and feed her by hand.
When the war ended, Colebourn returned to London to fulfill his promise. However, seeing how deeply the children of London loved Winnie, her permanently gifted her to the zoo, returning to Winnipeg alone to run a small animal hospital.
Among the children who adored Winnie was a young boy named Christopher Robin Milne. He repeatedly begged his father, author A.A. Milne, to take him to the zoo so he could see the friendly black bear. Christopher Robin became so attached that he changed the name of his own stuffed teddy bear to “Winnie the Pooh.”
Witnessing his son play with Winnie and a nursery full of other stuffed animals— Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga, and Roo— inspired A.A. Milne to write. The stories published fully in 1926 and became an instant phenomenon.
Decades later, Walt Disney brought the characters to life through animation. Today, as Disney honors a century of legacy with new releases and historical tributes from the Walt Disney Archives, we are reminded that Pooh’s timeless message of friendship started with a simple, real-life act of kindness between a soldier and an orphaned cub.
“We’ll be Friends Forever, won’t we Pooh?” Asked Piglet. “Even longer,” Pooh answered.