As revealed in new picture book Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear, by Lindsay Mattick, Winnie the Pooh was inspired by a black bear who was bought for $20 as a cub by a Canadian vet Lieutenant Harry Colebourn.
And Lindsay should know, because she’s Colebourn’s great granddaughter.
Colebourn was on his way to Salisbury, England, to be trained to treat horses on the battlefield during World War I.
He took the bear, named after his native Winnipeg – Winnie for short – with him on the ship, but eventually had to leave her at London Zoo when he was deployed to France with his regiment.
It was there that Winnie was frequently visited by a little boy called Christopher Robin and his father A.A. Milne.
And Lindsay should know, because she’s Colebourn’s great granddaughter.
Colebourn was on his way to Salisbury, England, to be trained to treat horses on the battlefield during World War I.
He took the bear, named after his native Winnipeg – Winnie for short – with him on the ship, but eventually had to leave her at London Zoo when he was deployed to France with his regiment.
It was there that Winnie was frequently visited by a little boy called Christopher Robin and his father A.A. Milne.
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