This bear is the advanced guard for a Bear Necessities cache series and the reason for the whole series – I was sitting at my desk at work one day when a random man stopped and asked me if I knew of Wojtek the Polish soldier bear (I have a bear on my desk). I didn’t so I decided to google him after the guy had moved on and found an amazing story. I then got thinking about other bears, real life and fictional, well known or otherwise.
Wojtek was a Syrian brown bear cub found in Iran after his mother was killed and adopted by soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps. He was fed with condensed milk from an emptied vodka bottle and when older was often rewarded with beer which became his favourite drink, he also enjoyed eating and smoking cigarettes. He enjoyed wrestling and was taught to salute when greeted. To get him onto a British transport ship when the unit sailed from Egypt he was drafted into the Polish Army and was listed among the soldiers of the 22nd Army Supply Company of the Polish II corps. He lived with the men in their tents or in a special wooden crate – according to accounts during the Battle of Monte Cassino Wojtek helped by transporting ammunition, never dropping a single crate. In recognition of his popularity the HQ approved an effigy of the bear carrying an artillery shell as the official emblem of the 22nd Company.
Following the end of the war in 1945 Wojtek was transported to Berwickshire where he was stationed in Hutton, near Duns. Following demobilisation in 1947 he was moved to Edinburgh Zoo where he spent the rest of his days – often visited by journalists or former Polish soldiers who would toss him cigarettes which he would eat as there was noone to light them for him. He died in 1963.
I love the amazing story of this bear who was obviously clearly loved by his compatriots – and also the randomness of how I found out about him. The starting coordinates for this cache take you to a statue erected in Princes Street Gardens to honour Wojtek. The statue was unveiled on the 7th November 2015 on a day of torrential rain, despite that a huge number of people braved the weather to pay their respects to the bear, including myself, and it was very moving to see one of Wojtek’s compatriots present at the unveiling. I hope you forgive the distance between the start and final coordinates; there is parking close by the final once you have worked out where it is.
So onto the actual information you need to collect. Behind the statue is a frieze depicting his life. Look at the panels left to right and answer the following questions.
Final Coordinates N55 AB.CDE W003 FG.HIJ
A : Panel 1 – 1942 : How many letters in the last word = A = Number of letters - 1
B : Panel 2 – B943 Palestine (I told you this was an easy multi!)
C : Panel 3 – 1944 YZth February, Alexandria, Eqypt C=Y + Z
D : Panel 3 – look at the abbreviation that preceeds Wojtek’s name in the description D = number of letters in the abbreviation + 2
E : Panel 3 – Wojtek boards the ship M.S. ? bound for Italy E = number of letters in the ship’s name -4
F : Panel 4 – 19WX Monte Cassino, F = W – X
G : Panel 4 – Where in 1945 did Wojtek achieve legendary status? G = number of letters in place name + 1
H : Panel 5 – 1946 How many words in the top line of the description for this panel. H = number of words / 4
I : Panel 6 – 1947 Wojtek remained at Edinburgh Zoo until his death. He was UV years old. I= U/ V
J : Panel 6 – How many words are in capitals on the second line of the description for this panel. J = number of words / 4
Checksum = 28