Unusual soldier (The bear - named Voytek)

With a bottle of Lech in one paw and a ciggie in the corner of his mouth,would fit in anywhere,and sure put the Angel of the North to shame :)

isthatu wrote:


lol - yes that would be quite fitting. Although there would be those that would complain...

I'm not sure about the Angel of the North. Every time I pass it I wonder what it's all about. It's just a distraction.


wozzy (and everyone else :), I wonder if you know anything of the soldiers who served with Wojtek or can link me to a site where I can find out more about the regiment or perhaps give me some contacts of people who served with Wojtek. My friend is trying to write an obituary of someone who served with the bear and who just died recently. Thanks :)

Your friend should contact either The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum which produced a small booklet about "Woytek" and cost £1.50, they also house the life-size bronze statue of "Woytek" sat amongst ammunition boxes.

They don't have email so address is:

The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum
20 Princes Gate
London SW7 1PT
Great Britain.
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7589 9249

For information about the regiment your friend should contact:

The Polish Ex-Combatants Association (SPK)
(Stowarzyszenie Polskich Kombatantow)
240 King Street
London W6 0RF
United Kingdom

To allow "Wojtek" into Great Britain the British Army gave the bear his own Polish soldier's number so he officially became a serving soldier just as the other Poles. So he was entitled to soldiers pay and pension.

• 
  Wojtek
  

Thanks for those addresses sjam. There was a hope that she would be able to write something significant to speak about at his funeral but time has almost ran out for that. I think now we're both going to do some research anyway.

:)

Web site dedicated to Wojtek -

wojtekthebear.com/html/photos.html

There's an old book about Wojtek called "Soldier Bear". It still pops up on places like Abebooks or e-bay occasionally. I've got a copy upstairs with the puppets I made for a show about him.

Thread attached on merging:
world war 2 slang - doing degree in literature - film script re Voytek.

Please can someone help me. I am doing an English Lit degree and need some ww2 slang for a film script I am doing on Voytek the brown bear who fought at Monte cassino and lived out his days in Edinburgh zoo. It is for my exam. Any useful (friendly slang ) most welcome - better would be to hear from veterans from 22nd Company Polish Army service Corps (Artillery) early 1940's in Syria, italy and Scotland. The film script is only for a half hour for an exam at present - but hope to do whole film script. Want to add some Polish words, greetings, exclamations, etc so the English speakers get a flavour of Polish Language.

Thank-you for your help,
Best wishes to you all,
Hazel

Hello Hazel and welcome to the forums.
Sounds like an interesting project - would like to see the outcome.
There is plenty of Polish slang on these forums but I dont know how this would transfer to the forties.

I suppose one example in English would be "woodbine". A common word for a cigarette in the forties but unheard of now. I wonder what the Polish equivalent would be ?

thanks for your reply - Just something like 'hi' 'good night' 'old friend' etc will do, just to emphasise the fact that the characters are Polish soldiers. hazel

You could pepper the dialog with the ever popular word among soldiers kurwa, pronunced "coorva". It is used for all situations like the English word "damn". :)

Yes, that's a good one. Old friend would be nice and good night, good morning.
Thanks, Hazel

The book about Voytek is Soldier Bear by Geoffrey Morgan and L.A. Lasocki last printed 1996. Magna Large Print. ISBN 0-7505-0961-9 some copies on Amazon. Heartwarming story, big hearted, compassionate Poles and a big hearted bear.

Old friend - Stary. The A is like in car.

Cześć and Czołem for both Hi and Bye.

Good morning - Dzień Dobry

Good Night - Dobranoc.

You might want to post this in the language section of this Forum, and people will help you with pronunciation.

Try the Polish Servicesmens associations, but maybe also somewhere like the Sikorski club in Glasgow.

I'd be so interested to talk with him. I'd like to do a book with any photos available and peoples memories of Voytek before it's too late. Would he be interested in talking/tape or something. I've just done a 30 minute short film script for my Open University project, and would love to do a proper historically accurate book, lots of photos and lots of input from Polish servicemen.

Incidentaly, having waded through loads of parliamentary records from the time, I think the Polish servicemen, who fought magnificantly, were treated really badly by our British govt. I'd like to say, thanks, and sorry for the shabby treatment you got.

Hazel

The Voytek's story:

During the most crucial phase of the battle, when pockets of men were cut off on the mountainside desperately in need of supplies, Voytek, who all this time had been watching his comrades frantically loading heavy boxes of ammunition, came over to the trucks, stood on his hind legs in front of the supervising officer and stretched out his paws toward him. It was as if he was saying: I can do this. Let me help you . The officer handed the animal the heavy box and watched in wonder as Voytek loaded it effortlessly onto the truck.

iranian.com/History/2005/August/Bear/index.html

Merged thread:
Voytek the Soldier Bear

Hello everyone

I'm working for a film company who are making a documentary about Voytek, and about the Polish people during WW2 in general. We have secured funding and will be coming over to Poland later in 2010 or early 2011, I've seen many people post with direct or indirect links to the soldiers of the 22nd company or their family.

We started on this documentary 2 years ago and since then 4 of our subjects have sadly passed.

If you have any information that you'd like to share, or photos even just stories you've heard,

please do get in touch,

Many thanks

Louise Clarkson

Polish bear 'that fought Nazis' to be commemorated

This is from today's Daily Telegraph. A nice story:


Apparently the bear did quite a few brave things and reacted when he heard the Polish language.

The officers who were murdered at Katyń probably reacted to Russian language before they were shot, but they don't get a monument and a bear does?? Only in the UK!

Many monuments, a memorial museum and a major film by Andrzej Wajda.


Where the bear lived.

I'm talking about a BRITISH momument, i.e., one which was denied by the UK Government because they didn't want to "offend" the Commies. Political Correctness gone mad, 50 years ahead of its time!


In a bankrupt country which can ill afford to waste £200K on a bear's monument!

For something that happened in one country to people of another country. Neither of those countries being Britain, the country the bear lived in. If we had a memorial for every tragedy in the world, the country would sink into the sea under the weight of them. Nevertheless, the Imperial War Museum does acknowledge the murders at Katyń, and there is this: Katyń Memorial, Cannock

alkingbritain.co.uk/walks/walks/walk_photo/180103


Nothing quicker than a kneejerk reaction. In penance, you should maybe send some money to the people who are paying for it privately:

Voytek Memorial Trust: donations to,
c/o Stuart Allister,
Greaves West & Ayre Chartered Accountants,
1/3 Sandgate,
Berwick upon Tweed.
TD15 1EW

READ HERE
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I remember that thread. I posted today's because the design has just been unveiled, the site has been chosen, permission has just been granted and the campaigners are trying in earnest to find the cash to build it.

There's now a facebook campaign which I'm part of - why not sign up?

I think it looks better when I posted it, you know like...:p

I for one will donate to something that highlights the roles that animals have in relation to the human race and its evils.

Maybe they should change the memorial to an empty plinth, to highlight the absence of the bear in the London Victory parade of 1946 and just spray paint, ''Brits are bastards'' on it? in bear handwriting obviously, anything else would look stupid.



There are some nice photos of the bear on the web, if you google image "Private Wojtek" but I can't post them, they are another forum or something.

Edit* Wojtek already has a sculpting of him in London!

Wojtek helps transport box of ammunition - sculpture in Sikorski Institute, London (wiki)

Well , what do you expect from Brits when they meet a bear with a name they cannot pronounce...?

If the Poles had called him Paddington , or Pooh , there would have been no problem...

Or Pedo bear.

I'm sorry, but I don't think the Poms have any cause to erect a monument to Katyn on their own soil. Katyn had nothing to do with them.


Thanks mate - will do. Just need to sign up to facebook first.

Merged thread:
Wojtek the Soldier Bear

Here's an interesting article about Wojtek on the BBC:
bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/wojtek_the_polish_soldier_bear_who_lived_at_edinburgh_zoo.shtml

I recently found a children's book about him in Polish too.