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Unusual soldier (The bear - named Voytek)


PennBoy  76 | 2429  
12 May 2011 /  #61
Wojtek the Soldier Bear

Yea supposedly he carried amunition to the soldiers on his back during battles, and also drank vodka.
Trevek  25 | 1699  
12 May 2011 /  #62
He used to carry shells in his arms. The regimental cap badge shows this.
wildrover  98 | 4430  
13 May 2011 /  #63
The regiments vehicles also carry the same badge...
rozumiemnic  8 | 3866  
7 Jan 2012 /  #64
Merged: Wojtek the soldier bear

wojtekfilm.com/large/index.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wojtek_(soldier_bear)

I was reading the paper yesterday and there was an article about this wonderful bear who was enlisted into the Polish army and carried munitions at Monte Cassino.

He liked beer and cigarettes and thought he was a soldier.
The whole story is superb.
Has anyone else heard of him?
JonnyM  11 | 2607  
7 Jan 2012 /  #65
He's got his own facebook page: facebook.com/group.php?gid=43399319070
PennBoy  76 | 2429  
13 Jul 2012 /  #66
New article about Wojtek in SpiegelOnline, The Nazis' Furriest Enemy

spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/wojtek-the-bear-that-joined-the-polish-army-and-fought-the-nazis-a-844056.html
David_18  65 | 966  
2 Jan 2013 /  #67
Merged: Poland's WWII soldier bear statue planned for Edinburgh

An Edinburgh-based trust hopes to raise a statue this year of a bear that served alongside Polish soldiers during World War II.

Wojtek the Bear was purchased as a cub in 1942 while the Polish Second Corps was stationed in Iran as part of the British 8th Army.

The bear became a fully-fledged member of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company, sleeping in soldiers' tents (until he was too big to do so), gobbling up cigarettes and drinking beer.

Legend holds that during the Italian campaign, he carried boxes of artillery at the hard fought Battle of Monte Cassino.

Poland bear

Poland war bear

So nice of the mod to merge my thread, let me guess... Vincent? :)
Tim Bucknall  7 | 98  
28 Jan 2013 /  #68
It's a great story, just goes to show why the Poles had a panache and elan that other Allied troops did not.

amen,

and i'm proud to say the Wotjek beer is brewed in my Town Congleton!
we've always been called bear town so it makes sense
Polonius3  980 | 12275  
3 Jun 2013 /  #69
Merged: Scots to honour Monte Cassino bear

thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/137424,Edinburgh-approves-Wojtek-the-soldier-bear-statue
Edinburgh is planning to erect a statue to Soldier-Bear Wojtek whose unveiling will coincide with next year's (2014) anniversary of the Battle of Monte Cassino.

Memorials to the Poland's ursine freedom-fighter who helped load ammunition are being planned in Kraków and Żagań as well.
VoytekBear  
1 Jun 2015 /  #70
There is a play in the Churchill Theather / High Street / Bromley Br1 1HA on: "Wojtek, the Happy Warrior." Polonia in the UK enjoy! ; )
jon357  73 | 22934  
25 Sep 2018 /  #71
There's an animated cartoon currently being finished in the UK (produced by Iain Harvey who did The Snowman) about Wojtek the Soldier Bear. I gather it's planned for release at Christmas. Good news, should be a great cartoon:

bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-45625363

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