Bamse and Wojtek. They are the names of animals who went to war, but they are not British names. How come I am writing about them? Well, I encountered both creatures, so to speak, in my Scottish travels.
Bamse first. Apparently pronounced BUMP-SA. Wandering around Montrose on 4th September last - the largest coastal town between Dundee and Aberdeen, with a rather elegant town centre, I came across this statue on the waterfront. From a distance it looked like a seal on a rock. Closer, I could see it was a very large dog, wearing a metal hat, with a Norwegian flag and a wreath at his feet.
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Click on these pictures to see the detail clearly. There was also a board which told his story.
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He was a huge St Bernard dog who belonged to the captain of a second World War minesweeper based at Montrose, part of the Royal Norwegian Navy of the time, and who, as part of the crew, performed many acts of loyalty, in various ways defending and rescuing crew members at sea and ashore. He became famous, and was adopted as a mascot for the Norwegian Navy and other Norwegian forces. After his death at Montrose - his heart gave out - Bamse was awarded the highest animal decoration both in Norway and Britain for his devoted service.
'Bamse' is Norwegian for 'teddy bear', suggesting that he was a gentle giant, a comforter as much as a fighter, although he could use his great size and strength to firmly subdue quarrelling sailors, and in that way stop disputes getting out of hand. He is officially honoured every ten years by Norway, but I rather think the wreath shows that the locals at Montrose are fond of his memory too.
All this said, one does expect an intelligent dog to do intelligent things, and I don't think Bamse - although extraordinary - did anything that you'd never expect a dog to do, or well beyond the ordinary powers of a dog. But he was certainly very special.
Wojtek, a brown bear, was another remarkable animal. I came across him at Duns, a town in the Borders, in 2021.
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Yes - that's a big live artillery shell that he's carrying in his paws!
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Between them, the plaques tell the story of Wojtek (pronounced something like VOY-TEK) the Soldier Bear. He was adopted as a cub by the Polish Army, maturing to an adult bear with Polish soldiers in the Middle East, and then later in 1944 helping them in the Italian campaign by carrying shells to the guns. Billeted with his fellow-soldiers, he clearly become somewhat humanised, and could perhaps understand simple commands, helped out with gestures, such as 'Wojtek! Pick this up and take it to Gun Battery C.' And 'Thank you, Wojtek! Put it down over there with the others.' Apparently in real life he carried boxes of shells, not individual pieces of ammunition. And he was actually mimicking what the other soldiers were doing. Still, he was totally reliable about toting ammunition safely from A to B without dropping it, and without kicking up a fuss about parting with it. (Though perhaps he was given a treat of some kind in exchange)
Did he really understand what ammunition was, and what might happen if he handled it too casually? Who can say. So far as I know, bears are not numbskulls, and do have a sense of self-preservation. He was, no doubt, a freakishly clever bear.
He stayed with the Polish Army until 1947, and then spent his final sixteen years at Edinburgh Zoo, perhaps wondering why he wasn't allowed to carry shells around any more. The statue was erected in 2016.
Two very unusual animals then, both of whom served in the War and are remembered with respect and affection. The thing is, I simply stumbled upon their statues, not knowing they were there. How lucky is that?
If you'd like to read more about these creatures, see:
