Polish soldier with Wojtek in 1942Born1942, IranDied2 December 1963 (1963-12-02) (aged 21), ScotlandService/ branchYears of service1943–45RankUnit3522, 22nd Artillery Supply Company,Battles/wars.MemorialsWebsiteWojtek (1942–1963; Polish pronunciation:; in English, sometimes spelled Voytek and pronounced as such) was a ( Ursus arctos syriacus) bought, as a young cub, at a railway station in, Iran, by soldiers who had been evacuated from the. In order to provide for his rations and transportation, he was eventually enlisted officially as a soldier with the rank of private, and was subsequently promoted to.He accompanied the bulk of the II Corps to Italy, serving with the 22nd Artillery Supply Company. During the, in in 1944, Wojtek helped move crates of ammunition and became a celebrity with visiting Allied generals and statesmen. After the war, mustered out of the Polish Army, he was billeted and lived out the rest of his life at the in Scotland.

Wojtek and Polish soldierIn the spring of 1942 the newly formed left the for Iran, accompanied by thousands of Polish civilians who had been deported to the Soviet Union following the 1939. At a railroad station in, Iran, on 8 April 1942, Polish soldiers encountered a young Kurdish boy who had found a bear cub whose mother had been shot by hunters. One of the civilian refugees in their midst, eighteen-year-old Irena (Inka) Bokiewicz, the great-niece of General, was very taken with the cub. She prompted Lieutenant Anatol Tarnowiecki to buy the young bear, which spent the next three months in a Polish refugee camp established near Tehran, principally under Irena's care. In August, the bear was donated to the 2nd Transport Company, which later became the 22nd Artillery Supply Company, and he was named Wojtek by the soldiers.

Jun 25, 2010  Battle Bears -1 is the follow-up prequel to last years incredibly popular Battle Bears: Zombies! If you aren’t familiar with the first Battle Bears game, you play the role of Oliver the bear. Battle Bear is an anthropomorphic brown bear in high-tech blue armor. He comes with his 'Great Battle' (グレートバトル) axe. He has one of three rubsigns on his chest, revealing the elemental power of.

The name Wojtek is the, form, or of ' (Happy Warrior), an old still common in Poland. Wojtek play-wrestling with a Polish soldierWojtek initially had problems swallowing and was fed from an old vodka bottle. He was subsequently given fruit, marmalade, honey, and syrup, and was often rewarded with beer, which became his favourite drink. He later also enjoyed smoking (or eating) cigarettes, as well as drinking coffee in the mornings. He also would sleep with the other soldiers if they were ever cold in the night. He enjoyed wrestling with the soldiers and was taught to salute when greeted.

He became an attraction for soldiers and civilians alike, and soon became an unofficial to all the units stationed nearby. With the 22nd Company, he moved to Iraq, and then through Syria, and Egypt. Wojtek copied the other soldiers, drinking beer, smoking and even marching alongside them on his hind legs because he saw them do so.

Wojtek had his own caregiver, assigned to look after him. The cub grew up while on campaign, and by the time of the he weighed 200 pounds (14 st; 91 kg). Private Wojtek.

A standard ammunition crate, which held four shellsAs an enlisted soldier with his own, rank, and serial number, he lived with the other men in tents or in a special wooden crate, which was transported by truck. During the, Wojtek helped his unit to convey ammunition by carrying 100-pound (45 kg) crates of shells, never dropping any of them. However, this story is of big controversy due to some people saying it was false, while a British soldier recalls seeing a bear carrying crates of ammo. The bear mimicked the soldiers: when he saw the men lifting crates, he copied them.

Wojtek carried boxes that normally required 4 men, which he would stack onto a truck or other ammunition boxes. This service at Monte Cassino earned him promotion to the rank of. In recognition of Wojtek's popularity, a depiction of a bear carrying an artillery shell was adopted as the official emblem of the 22nd Company.

Post war. Wojtek in Britain after the warAfter the end of World War II in 1945, Wojtek was transported to, Scotland, with the rest of the 22nd Company. They were stationed at on Sunwick Farm, near the village of. Wojtek soon became popular among local civilians and the press, and the Polish-Scottish Association made him an honorary member.Following demobilization on 15 November 1947, Wojtek was given to, where he spent the rest of his life, often visited by journalists and former Polish soldiers, some of whom tossed cigarettes for him to eat, as he did during his time in the army. Media attention contributed to Wojtek's popularity. He was a frequent guest on BBC television's programme for children.Wojtek died in December 1963, at the age of 21. At the time of his death he weighed nearly 35 stone (490 lb; 220 kg), and was over 6 feet (1.8 m) tall.

Legacy. The many memorials to the soldier-bear include a plaque in the, in London; a sculpture by David Harding in the, in London; and a wooden sculpture in,.

In 2013, the city council decided to erect a statue of Wojtek in the city's. It was unveiled on 18 May 2014, the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Monte Cassino. In 2013, the approved the erection of a bronze statue of Wojtek, by Alan Beattie Herriot, to stand in the city's West. Unveiled in 2015, it presents Wojtek and a fellow Polish Army soldier walking together. A 1.5-metre (five-foot-long) relief documents Wojtek's journey from Egypt to Scotland with the Polish Army.

In 1974 the story of Voytek the Soldier Bear was narrated over of the BBC children's television series by. In 2011, a film, Wojtek: The Bear That Went to War, was broadcast on, narrated by. songwriter released a music video titled 'Wojtek,' on 17 September 2014 – the 75th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland. He is referenced in, as an Easter egg achievement, 'Bearer of Artillery'. The achievement is earned by playing as Poland, having troops fighting in and against Italy, controlling or allied with another country controlling the Iranian province of Hamadan, and remaining Non-Aligned. Worms 3d pc. In the, a fictionalized Poland known as 'Polania Republic' is represented with the characters 'Anna & Wojtek', where Wojtek is Anna's bear companion. In the anime series, the emblem of the Poland-inspired school, Bonple, features a bear carrying an artillery shell, as a reference to the emblem of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company and Wojtek.

In the to the series, the name 'Wojtek' is also used for a teddy-shaped amusement park vehicle and later museum exhibit for the in-series franchise. In the online digital collectible card game, Wojtek is named in an audible voice line in reference to a bear summoned by a unit card of the Skellige starter deck.