Milne, to take him to the zoo where he fed spoonfuls of condensed milk to the friendly black bear in between big, furry hugs. At a time when horses were still critical military assets, Colebourn and the other members of the Royal Canadian Army Veterinary Corps provided a vital service by protecting them from disease and helping them heal from bullet and shrapnel wounds.Ĭhristopher Robin Milne with his teddy bear.Īmong the children of London who continued to be smitten by Winnie in the coming years was a young boy named Christopher Robin Milne who repeatedly begged his father, author A.A.

On one occasion, he narrowly avoided being hit by a shell that exploded just yards away. There would be no quick end to World War I, however, and Colebourn witnessed the horrible carnage firsthand. Before parting, the soldier promised to bring Winnie back to Canada once the war was over, which he hoped would be a matter of months. The trenches of France were hardly a place for a man-let alone a bear-so on December 9, 1914, Colebourn brought Winnie to her new home at the London Zoo, which had just opened a new bear habitat that resembled a mountain landscape. After seven weeks of training on the Salisbury Plain, the veterinary officer received the call to the Western Front. Manitou with Winnie in tow as he sailed to England for additional instruction.

In early October, Colebourn boarded the military transport S.S. Days after the launch of World War I, the young veterinary officer with the Fort Garry Horse cavalry regiment was among the first to enlist and depart Winnipeg for the military training camp at Valcartier, Quebec. After graduating from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1911, Colebourn settled in the prairie boomtown of Winnipeg to take a job with the Department of Agriculture. At the age of 18, he emigrated to Canada to study veterinary surgery. Born in Birmingham, England, Colebourn had always loved animals. In the 27-year-old Canadian soldier, the trapper found the perfect customer. In need of fresh air and a stretch of his legs after a long day on the rails, Lieutenant Harry Colebourn descended the steps of his railcar onto the station platform when an unusual sight caught his eye-a black bear cub no more than seven months old at the end of a leash held by a trapper seeking to attract the attention of a willing buyer.

With bells ringing and brakes squealing, a trainload of men in crisp military uniforms pulled into the small lumber town of White River, Ontario, on August 24, 1914.

Winnie the pooh original book