Hello, it’s Terry again. Further to my previous blog on notable animals in Wiltshire’s History, we now have a couple more vying for that top spot. First, and being a fan of the good old British moggy, I was pleased to have the Marlborough church cat brought to my attention. Yes, it is commemorated in stone, but it seems that it really did exist. Visitors to St Mary’s Church in Marlborough will be able to pick out the outline of a cat on the south porch. This corbel, dating to the fifteenth century, commemorates a church cat that saved her kittens from a fire. Perhaps the cat was originally employed to catch the church mice, but it goes into our top ten as our most heroic animal in Wiltshire’s history.
St Mary's Church, Marlborough
Also brought to my attention and no less deserving of our respect is the bear that was the inspiration for Winnie the Pooh. During the Great War, 25,000 Canadian troops were stationed around Salisbury Plain 1915-16. Among their number were also four American black bears, mascots of the 2nd Infantry Brigade, the Divisional Ammunition Park, the 2nd Brigade and the 8th and 10th Batteries. When the Canadian troops left for France on 7th June 1916, the bears were left behind in the care of the Zoological Society. From there they found their way to London Zoo. One of the bears, named Winnie after its place of origin, Winnipeg, was brought from Canada by Lieutenant Harry Coleburn. Winnie remained at the Zoo until its death in 1934. There is some suggestion that this former Wiltshire four-legged resident inspired A A Milne to name his fictional bear after Winnie. Winnie the Pooh was published in 1926. However, later in their lives, neither Christopher Robin nor his father could remember the origin of the name. Despite this, there is a bronze statue of Winnie the Pooh with Lt. Coleburn, by Bill Epp, erected in 1992 behind the Reptile House of London Zoo. For this and being the most unlikely inspiration for a literary character that has brought pleasure to thousands of people and associated giftware (including an old cushion in my car and my wife’s old school pencil tin) Winnie goes straight to the top of our list …. Unless of course you know a more deserving animal…
The Canadian Tented Camp on Salisbury Plain
