Wojtek the soldier bear remembered

30 Oct 2014 01:09 PM

Bear symbolises strength of relationship between Scotland and Poland

External Affairs Secretary Fiona Hyslop has announced a grant to a charity fundraising for a statue to remember Wojtek, the soldier bear.

The new money will go towards an interpretation panel which will explain the significance of the statue. The grant has been made to The Wojtek Memorial Trust, which is fundraising to erect a statue of the soldier bear and a Polish Soldier in Princes Street Gardens. The Polish Government is also making a contribution to the Trust.

Wojtek the bear was the mascot of a company of the Free Polish Army in the Second World War. He was given a name, rank and serial number and fought bravely alongside the soldiers who adopted him as an orphan cub – even carrying munitions at the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944.

After the Italian campaign, he settled in Scotland with the Polish soldiers in a displaced persons camp, and when the camp closed in 1947 he settled in Edinburgh Zoo, where he lived until he died in 1963.

Announcing the £20,000 award to the Wojtek Memorial Trust at a Scottish Government sponsored reception to raise awareness of the work of the Wojtek Memorial Trust, Culture and External Affairs Secretary Fiona Hyslop said:

“Wojtek the soldier bear symbolises the strong relationship between Scotland and Poland and our historic links, and I am delighted to support this statue.

“The Scottish Government recognises the huge contribution Polish immigrants make to Scottish life – from the Poles who fought alongside us, and alongside Wojtek, in World War Two, to more recent arrivals.

“The Poles who have come to Scotland to live and work have brought much more than their professional skills. They have made a huge contribution to Scotland’s culture, as well as to our economy.

“Our Polish community has grown by 52,000 since 2001 to 61,000 in 2011 and we now often hear Polish names in the playgrounds of our schools and nurseries – a sign of our growing number of young Polish families.

“I want young Scots, including those from Polish families, to know the story of Wojtek the soldier bear.”

Simon Thompson, Chair of the Wojtek Memorial Trust, commented:

“On behalf of the Trust, I would like to thank Fiona Hyslop and her Scottish Government colleagues for this very generous gesture of support for our work to build Wojtek’s memorial in Edinburgh.

“Wojtek’s story, which is becoming better known around the world every day, reminds us not only of the strong historic links between Poland and Scotland, but also of the ever increasing current links between our two nations. Wojtek is a powerful symbol of these links, and of the gratitude felt in Scotland to the Polish men, women – and a bear – who fought ‘for their freedom and ours’.”