Winnie-the-Pooh is one of the world’s most beloved literary creations, but the origins of A.A. Milne’s gentle bear are deeply entwined with the tumult of the First World War.
This lecture explores the remarkable wartime stories behind both Milne’s illustrator, E.H. Shepard, who served with the 105th Siege Battery of the Royal Artillery, and the real bear that inspired Pooh—an orphaned cub purchased by a Canadian soldier, Lieutenant, Harry Colebourn, in White River, Ontario, and smuggled across the Atlantic to become the mascot of the Second Canadian Infantry Brigade.
Through wartime sketches, frontline diaries, and a story of resilience and survival, this lecture uncovers how war and loss played an unexpected role in the formation of Shepard’s art and the creation of Winnie-the-Pooh.
Ross King, bestselling author of books on Italian, French and Canadian art and history, a Smithsonian Expert and an Accredited Lecturer with The Arts Society. For more details: www.rosskingbooks.com
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Featured Image: Harry Colebourn and Winnie, 1914 (Manitoba Provincial Archives)
