Wojtek: The bear who was a private in the Polish army

A bear, famed for his love of beer, cigarettes and boxing and who was by the side of Allied troops in World War Two, has been made the subject of a play.

Wojtek was adopted by the 2nd Polish Corps in 1943, after his mother was shot by hunters.

The Syrian brown bear travelled with them from the Middle East as they were deployed to Italy. Allied soldiers described their shock at seeing Wojtek carrying artillery shells during the Battle of Monte Cassino.

The story of friendship and courage has been adapted for a production at Coventry’s Albany Theatre by writer Alan Pollock from his children’s book The Bear Who Went To War.

Sue Butler’s father was one of the soldiers in the war alongside Wojtek.

“Dad said he was a symbol that united the soldiers, he was much more than a bear, he thought he was one of them,” she said.

Like many veterans, Cpl Andrzej Gasior did not talk much about his experiences of war as she was growing up, Mrs Butler, from Solihull, said.

“But when he started to tell me stories about this soldier who was actually a bear I didn’t believe him at first, I thought he was winding me up.

“But it was in a local Polish club that a friend of his brought a picture to show me of Wojtek”.

Her father had been put in a Siberian labour camp aged 16 after being caught crossing the Polish border to trade boots and food.

He became ill and said the war saved his life as the invasion of Poland prompted the Soviet Union to let the Poles go, she said.

Her father joined the Polish Free Army, as he called it, and met Wojtek while in the Middle East.

Wojtek was famed as a bear who liked beer and cigarettes but the truth may have been a little more prosaic.

The bear was especially partial to dates, which her father would carry in his top pocket as a treat, Mrs Butler said.

“If dad pretended to walk past Wojtek he knew that he’d got something and would make a beeline for him,” she said.

“He told me other soldiers wrestled with the bear, and although he is sometimes seen drinking bottles of beer, my dad said the beer was sometimes too precious and often it was just water.”

He would also ask for cigarettes, which he would eat.

The soldiers were very protective of their colleague, she added, who served as a great morale booster.

“He was a displaced bear, and they were displaced people and they were both without their families”.

The animal was “very funny and quite mischievous,” she added, but ultimately “thought he was one of them”.

“They had all come out [of Siberia] emaciated, and been downtrodden by the Russian state for such a long time, and this bear suddenly comes into their lives who hasn’t got his mom.”

When the Polish forces were deployed to Europe the only way to take the bear with them was to “enlist” him.

So he was given a name, rank and number and took part in the Italian campaign.

In one interview, a British veteran told how taken aback he was to see the 1.82m (6ft) bear carrying shells during the Battle of Monte Cassino.

The company emblem became a picture of Wojtek carrying a shell.

“My dad said I’m sure he kept us going” during that battle, said Mrs Butler.

“He absolutely showed that he was scared by the explosions but he got used to it and was carting artillery around the place in big boxes.”

When the Polish soldiers were demobilised Wojtek lived in Berwickshire in Scotland before being taken to Edinburgh Zoo where he eventually died in 1963.

Cpl Gasior travelled to England, first working at a colliery in Preston before joining a circus and ending up in the West Midlands.

He married Johanna O’Connel, a canteen worker he met at Gaydon Airfield near Coventry, before the couple settled in Birmingham.

“But before he came south he did go and visit Wojtek in Edinburgh,” said Mrs Butler.

“Polish men of his era were taught not to cry as it was seen as a sign of weakness” she said.

“But he told me when he saw Wojtek at the zoo he sobbed like a baby”.

Playwright Mr Pollock said he had been alerted to the tale by a 90-year-old woman while carrying out research at Coventry’s Polish Club.

“I had to stop her and say ‘I’m sorry can you repeat that, a bear was a private in the Polish army?’

“She told me the story and from that moment I was gripped, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a story that I so instantly knew I wanted to tell.”

Many of the soldiers ended up settling in the UK, he said.

“They think when the battle is won they can go home, but of course Poland is occupied by the Soviet Union and they can never go back,” he said.

“Most of them left home in 1939 or 1940 and many of them never saw their homes or their families ever again.”

Mrs Butler said she only recently heard of the production through her daughter-in-law who works at the theatre.

“I think Julia mentioned it to my son, Tom, and he said ‘I’m absolutely positive my grandad met that bear,’ but I don’t think she believed him at first.

“It’s a small world and sometimes things just all align, don’t they,” she added.

Her father lived to the age of 92 and died in 2014.

“He’s my hero, my dad is. He was an amazing man, and I’m just so proud to be his daughter”.

The Bear Who Went to War by Alan Pollack is published by Old Barn Books and the play runs at the Albany Theatre Coventry until 2 November.