Wojtek the Bear [paperback]

by Orr, Aileen;

  There was a worrying domestic background to these events. The Poles had been welcomed in the early war years as valiant comrades. But by 1945 resentment at their presence was building up, especially in Scotland. Left-wingers, many of them in the trade union movement, were upset by the ‘anti-Soviet’ bias of most Poles, and saw the arrival of the 2nd Corps from Italy as the import of a ‘Fascist foreign legion’ hungry to start a third world war. Although there was a desperate labour shortage, the National Union of Mineworkers was hostile to Polish miners entering British collieries. And by 1945 there was a constant flow of ‘send the Poles home’ demands from other, more middle-class groups, including the churches and many local councils.

  ‘They have overstayed their welcome’ was the theme of most of these protests, accompanied by fantasies about ‘overpaid’ Poles in uniform crowding into expensive Edinburgh restaurants. Also, and inevitably, there was an attempt to smear the Poles by religious bigotry. In June 1946 the odious John Cormack, leader of the Protestant Action Society and a demagogue on Edinburgh City Council, managed to fill the Usher Hall with an anti-Polish rally. Cormack attacked the Poles as dangerous Papists out to take over Scotland, and denied that Poland had ever been an independent state. Here and there, tense feelings exploded into drunken brawls, and there was an ugly fight between Scots and Polish servicemen in Irvine that September.

  But this was the low point, and relations between Poles and Scots began to improve again in 1947. There were several reasons for this. One was political sympathy. By the end of that year, British public opinion had begun to understand how repressive and harsh life had become in Poland, and throughout the zone of Europe under Soviet control. A second reason was that the British government grew worried about bad feeling in working-class Scotland, and began to redirect the incoming Poles to England. According to Tomasz Ziarski-Kernberg’s invaluable book The Polish Community in Scotland, Parliament was informed that by late 1946 there were 36,000 Polish troops in Scotland, as against 72,000 elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Another 52,000 were expected, but they would be billeted in England and Wales.

  A third reason for this cooling of passions was that the Poles in Scotland became much less visible. The 2nd Corps arrived from Italy, bringing with them some 10,000 family members and dependants, but their demobilisation took place mostly in England. Out of 161 camps set up for them, only eight were in Scotland: three for soldiers – including the camp near the River Tweed at Winfield where Wojtek and his friends were settled – and five for the civilians who came with them. Their legendary wandering across the face of the earth, which had begun in Poland, driven them on through Siberia and central Asia to the Caspian Sea, then on again through Persia, Iraq, Palestine and the battlefields of Italy, had come at last to a standstill in exile.

  In the camps, the Polish Resettlement Corps gave the ex-soldiers training in several trades, and – most importantly – taught them English. But the PRC camps gradually emptied over the years and, as most of their ‘graduates’ were transferred south or emigrated to other countries, the total number of Poles in Scotland fell steeply. By the time of the census in April 1951, Scottish residents registered as ‘born in Poland’ numbered only 10,603 – 9,113 men and 1,490 women. Five years before, the figure would have been over 50,000.

  The 10,000 now became the core of Scotland’s hardworking, God-fearing Polish community through the decades that lay ahead. On the whole, they kept well clear of the political squabbles which rent the London-based émigré government during the Cold War, and their main organisation was the League of Polish Combatants (SPK), in which General Anders was the leading figure. A new ripple of refugees reached them in the 1980s, following martial law and the suppression of the free trade union Solidarity. Ten years later, after a free Poland entered the European Union in 2004, the ripple became a tsunami of young Poles pouring into Scotland to find work and learn new ways to live.

  But Wojtek was no longer there to greet them. So reluctantly handed over to the care of Edinburgh Zoo, this grand old bear had lived out his retiral in reasonable comfort. He seems not to have been unhappy. But his old mates who visited him found that he was always nostalgic for an army cigarette, a slab of cake and the beloved sound of the Polish language. There had been bad times in the war, but at least he had never for a moment been lonely. His Polish visitors knew what he meant.

  List of Plates

  The bear cub in Iraq. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Wojtek learned good manners early. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Always looking for food. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Wojtek playing in the Middle East. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  A childlike pose always worked. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Wrestling was his passion. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  He was adept at climbing but destroyed all trees. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Taking stock of his next willing victim! The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Pretend fighting and showing off. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Good manners meant good food. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Boarding the MS Batory in Alexandria, Egypt. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Wojtek in Palestine with members of the Polish Women’s Army in 1943. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Wojtek in the FWD HAR-1 Truck. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Jim Little as postman in Moniaive.

  The author’s grandfather leading a remembrance parade.

  Wojtek at Winfield Camp.

  Three girls: Actress Elaine C Smith, Margo MacDonald MSP and Aileen Orr.

  Aileen with Woytek maquette.

  Maquette by Alan Beattie Herriot.

  The bear cub in Iraq. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Wojtek learned good manners early. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Always looking for food. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Wojtek playing in the Middle East. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  A childlike pose always worked. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Wrestling was his passion. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  He was adept at climbing but destroyed all trees. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Taking stock of his next willing victim! The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Pretend fighting and showing off. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Good manners meant good food. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Boarding the MS Batory in Alexandria, Egypt. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Wojtek in Palestine with members of the Polish Women’s Army in 1943. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Wojtek in the FWD HAR-1 Truck. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, London

  Jim Little as postman in Moniaive.

  The author’s grandfather leading a remembrance parade.

  Wojtek at Winfield Camp.

  Three girls: Actress Elaine C Smith, Margo MacDonald MSP and Aileen Orr.

  Aileen with Woytek maquette.

  Maquette by Alan Beattie Herriot.

  Index

  Afghanistan ref 1, ref 2

  Alexandria, Egypt ref 1

  Ancona, Italy ref 1

  Anders, General Wladyslaw ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7, ref 8, ref 9, ref 10

  Anders’ Polish Army ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4

  Andrzejewska, Maja ref 1

  Anzio, Italy ref 1, ref 2

  Ashkhabad, Polish mission at ref 1

  Atlee, government of Clement ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4

  Aurunci Mountains ref 1<
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  Australia ref 1

  Austro-Hungarian Empire ref 1

  Baczor, Vic ref 1

  Balkans, dancing bears in ref 1

  Baltic ports, Nazi threat to ref 1

  Bamse (Norwegian St Bernard mascot) ref 1

  Bandurski, Mateusz ref 1

  Barnett, Ambassador Robin ref 1, ref 2

  Barony Castle, Eddleston ref 1, ref 2

  Battle of Britain ref 1, ref 2, ref 3

  bears in ancient cultures ref 1

  Belorussia ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5

  Beria, Lavrenty ref 1

  Berling, General Zygmunt ref 1, ref 2

  Berwick

  Berwick Arms Hotel ref 1

  Berwick Bear ref 1

  Brown Bear pub in ref 1

  Dutch trade with (and red pantiles as ballast) ref 1

  technically at war with Russia ref 1

  Wojtek’s visits to ref 1

  Bevin, Ernest ref 1, ref 2

  Biggar, Lanarkshire ref 1

  Biggar Museum ref 1, ref 2, ref 3

  Bismarck, Count Otto von ref 1

  Black Watch at Monte Cassino ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4

  Blackadder River ref 1

  Blessed, Brian ref 1

  Bodega Bar, Dundee ref 1

  Bolshevik Revolution (1917) ref 1, ref 2

  Bór-Komorowski, General Tadeusz ref 1

  Bowden ref 1

  Boxer Rebellion in China ref 1

  Breda, liberation of ref 1

  Bridge of Earn ref 1

  British 8th Army ref 1, ref 2, ref 3

  Brodie, William ref 1

  Brown, Archie ref 1, ref 2, ref 3

  Burdett-Coutts, Baroness ref 1

  Buzek, President Jerzy ref 1, ref 2

  Calton Hill ref 1

  camels in war ref 1

  Campbell, Ian ref 1

  Campbell, Sonia ref 1

  canaries in war ref 1

  Carpathian Lancers Regiment ref 1, ref 2

  Carpathian Rifle Brigade ref 1, ref 2

  Caspian Sea ref 1, ref 2, ref 3

  Catherine II of Russia ref 1

  Chain Bridge Honey Farm ref 1

  Chalmers (Czamer), Alexander ref 1, ref 2

  Chambers, Sir William ref 1

  The Charterhall Story (Thompson, J.B.) ref 1

  Chelminski, Major ref 1, ref 2

  Chopin, Frédéric ref 1

  Churchill, Winston S. ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5

  pledge to Poles at end of war ref 1

  Sikorski and, agreement for Polish army to re-arm in Scotland ref 1, ref 2, ref 3

  at Teheran conference ref 1

  at Yalta conference ref 1, ref 2, ref 3

  Chuzanow, Adam ref 1

  Clancy, Tom ref 1

  Clark, Jim ref 1

  Clarke, MBE, John (Black Watch at Monte Cassino) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4

  Cormack, John ref 1

  Corson, Margot ref 1

  Crawford, Lanarkshire ref 1

  Czechoslovakia, Nazi occupation of ref 1

  Czeremosz River ref 1

  Czestochowa Pipe Band ref 1

  Daley, PC Simon ref 1

  Danzig (Gdańsk) ref 1, ref 2

  Davies, Norman ref 1

  Dawnay, James ref 1

  de Gaulle, Charles ref 1

  de Vink, Peter ref 1

  Defence of the Realm Regulations ref 1

  Demarco, Richard ref 1, ref 2

  Denholm, Mrs (cook at Winfield Camp) ref 1

  dogs in war ref 1, ref 2

  Dollan, Sir Patrick ref 1

  dolphins, sea lions and whales in war ref 1, ref 2

  Douglas, Lanarkshire ref 1, ref 2, ref 3

  Dumfries, Assembly Rooms in ref 1

  Dundee ref 1

  Dunlop of Mayfield, Mrs ref 1

  Duns, Berwickshire ref 1

  twinned with Zagan ref 1

  Edinburgh ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7, ref 8, ref 9, ref 10, ref 11

  Polish Cultural Festival In ref 1

  Edinburgh Castle ref 1

  Edinburgh City Council ref 1

  Edinburgh-Kraków partnership ref 1

  Edinburgh Military Tattoo ref 1

  Edinburgh Sick Children’s Hospital ref 1

  Edinburgh World Heritage ref 1

  Edinburgh Zoo ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7, ref 8

  Egypt ref 1, ref 2, ref 3

  elephants in war ref 1

  Enigma code ref 1

  European Parliament ref 1

  European Union (EU) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3

  Fabiani MSP, Linda ref 1

  Falaise Gap ref 1

  Falkirk Polish Club ref 1

  Fergusson MSP, Alex ref 1

  Fields of Hope (Pola Nadziei) campaign ref 1

  Finland ref 1

  First World War ref 1, ref 2

  Fleming family (Winfield farm) ref 1, ref 2

  Foulden, Berwickshire ref 1

  France

  fall of (1940) ref 1

  French resistance to Nazism ref 1

  Normandy landings and fighting in ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4

  Franchetti, Vincent ref 1

  Frank, Hans ref 1

  French Expeditionary Corps ref 1

  game hunting ref 1

  Gavinton, Berwickshire ref 1

  Genghis Khan ref 1

  Gillespie, Thomas ref 1

  Glasgow ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5

  Glover, Janella ref 1

  Gray, John ref 1

  Great Polish Map of Scotland ref 1

  Greenlaw, Berwickshire ref 1

  Greyfriars Bobby ref 1

  Gustav Line ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5

  Habsburg Empire ref 1, ref 2

  Hamadan City and Province ref 1, ref 2

  Herriot, Alan Beattie ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7, ref 8-ref 9

  Historic Scotland ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4

  Hitler, Adolf ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4

  Hood, Will ref 1

  horses in war ref 1

  Howgate, Midlothian ref 1

  Hungary ref 1, ref 2, ref 3

  Hutton, Berwickshire ref 1, ref 2

  hyper-communication ref 1

  India ref 1, ref 2, ref 3

  Iran see Persia

  Iraq ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6

  Italy ref 1

  see also Monte Cassino

  Jagiellonian University, Kraków ref 1

  Jandoo, Dr Raj ref 1

  Karolewski (Kay), Augustyn ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7

  Karski, Jan ref 1

  Kaska the monkey ref 1

  Katyn Forest, massacre in ref 1, ref 2, ref 3

  Kazakhstan ref 1

  Kelso, Roxburghshire ref 1

  Kenya ref 1

  KGB ref 1

  Kiev ref 1

  King’s Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB) ref 1, ref 2

  Kirkuk, Iraq ref 1

  Kociuszko, Tadeusz ref 1

  Kociuszko Division ref 1

  Kotonowicz, Anna ref 1

  Kozielsk prison camp ref 1, ref 2

  Kraków ref 1

  Edinburgh–Kraków partnership ref 1

  Jagiellonian University ref 1

  St Lazarus Hospice in ref 1

  Kraków Hejna bugle call ref 1

  Kukiel, General Marian ref 1

  Lamb, Pascale ref 1

  Lavis, Adam ref 1

  Lenin, Vladimir I ref 1

  Lenino, first battle at (1943) ref 1

  Lithgow, William ref 1

  Lithuania ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5

  Little, Jim ref 1, ref 2, ref 3

  KOSB Colour Sergeant ref 1

  mistrust of (Labour) politicians ref 1

  respect for Polish soldiers ref 1

  Wojtek’s relationship with ref 1, ref 2, ref 3

  Lockerbie, Trinity Church in ref 1

  Lothian and Border Hors
e ref 1

  Loudon, Major General Euan ref 1

  Lwów ref 1, ref 2, ref 3

  Lwów Rifles Battalion ref 1, ref 2

  MacInnes, Marc ref 1

  Maczek, General Stanislaw ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4

  Madden, Colonel (Black Watch at Monte Cassino) ref 1

  Mansoor, Kat ref 1

  Marie Curie Cancer Care ref 1

  Mexico ref 1

  Michael the Bear ref 1

  Mickiewicz, Adam ref 1, ref 2

  Middle East, dancing bears in ref 1

  Mikolajczyk, Stanislaw ref 1, ref 2

  military research ref 1

  Moffat ref 1

  Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact ref 1, ref 2

  Moniaive ref 1

  Monte Cassino ref 1, ref 2, ref 3

  assaults on ref 1

  battle for ref 1

  Death Valley ref 1

  final battle for ref 1

  impregnability of ref 1

  maelstrom of ref 1

  munitioning guns at ref 1

  shelling at ref 1

  strategic goals of battle for ref 1

  threat to advancing Allies ref 1

  turning point in Allied fortunes ref 1

  victory at ref 1

  Montrose ref 1

  mules in war ref 1

  Murrays of Elibank ref 1

  Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego ref 1

  Napoleon Bonaparte ref 1, ref 2

  National Homing Union ref 1

  Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) ref 1

  Nazi Todt Organizsation ref 1

  New Zealand ref 1

  Nivkh clan in Russia ref 1