Teddy Bears Continue to Serve: The Victory Bear Project

Story and images by Harold E. Wright
CAHS NB Editor/Secretary
posted January 2025
Harold Wright, Secretary of the CAHS “Turnbull” New Brunswick Chapter, shares an exciting new fundraising initiative with some great linkages to Canada’s military history. Keep reading further to learn more about the Turnbull (NB) Chapter’s ”Teddy Bears Continue to Serve” project.

Bears have a long tradition of linkage to Canada’s military. The Canadian connection of the First World War “Winnipeg Bear” is well known. A small black bear was purchased by Canadian Army veterinarian Harry Coleman of the Fort Garry Horse. Coleman took the bear to England with his troops. Winnipeg was later housed at the London Zoo, and in 1926, Alan A. Milne wrote a story for his son about this bear: Winnie the Pooh is now a worldwide childhood classic story. (Winnie died in 1934).
            
During the Second World War, the Polish 22nd Artillery Supply Company, Polish II Corps, adopted Wojtek, a 500-pound Syrian brown bear. After the war, Wojtek was placed in the London Zoo where he lived until his passing in 1963.

In 2003, Canada’s military had a ‘Name the Bear’ contest to find a name for the Canadian Army’s new white polar bear mascot.  The polar bear was chosen as a mascot because these bears are strong, tenacious, and brave – similar qualities have been exhibited by Canadian troops since the South African War. The name Juno was chosen as it honours the soldiers who landed on Juno Beach during the Second World War Normandy invasion.
Teddy bears have been part of Western culture since the first one was made by Rose Michton in 1903 at Brooklyn, New York. While many children may get a teddy bear as a child, Harold did not get his first bear until he was in his late twenties. His friend, Second World War Veteran Henry Bisson, lived at the Partridge Island Quarantine Station in the 1920s, and then he served there during the Second World War. As a child on the island, Henry had a teddy bear, complete with measles (dabs of red paint) to mimic sick immigrant children then in the third class hospital. Henry gifted that “Bisson Bear” to Harold, and it is still a prized possession.
"Bisson Bear" gifted to Harold E. Wright from Second World War Veteran Henry Bisson.
Fast forward again to 2019, when the Turnbull (NB) Chapter and 250 Saint John Wing, RCAF Association, under the umbrella 250 Wing RCAFA Inc., began working on their Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) 100 projects for the service’s centennial in 2024. Several projects were identified, and all had the same organizational components: design, education, students, community, the environment, and fundraising. For their RCAF 100 Pennfield Ridge Air Force Memorial, Harold came up with the idea of an RCAF teddy bear which could be attractive for the elementary students in the Charlotte County area where the memorial would to be built.

Part of the idea concept came from Veteran Affairs Canada’s educational handout on the use of Animals in Warfare. Winnie the Pooh figures prominently in those stories. Eventually, Harold expanded the concept to include three bears representing the military heritage of Charlotte County during the Second World War. The idea was shared with friends and members of both aviation organizations, and the Victory Bears project was born and would come to fruition through dedication and passion.

To make the Victory Bears as relevant as possible to the community, each has been given a personality with a name, ID tag, and appropriate uniform. Private Berlin Grant Utopia trained at that Camp before serving overseas. Stoker William Fisher St. Croix was the sole survivor of the sinking of his ship HMCS St. Croix. Leading Aircraftwoman (LACW) Lilian Hawkins Pennfield served in Canada during the Second World War, and her family had a connection to the Pennfield airport property. Each bear has a replica Second World War Certificate of Service, with the appropriate G, V, and R service number.
Second World War Certificate of Service for each bear.
The uniforms are as authentic as possible. Each is made from a spare Second World War uniform. Harold received an RCN blouse and an RCAF Women’s Division (WD) skirt. The project’s bear maker bought a pair of battledress pants and LACW Pennfield’s buttons are actually second war RCAF buttons. The cap badges are replicas of the real badges of that war. The bears have been made by Turnbull member Debbie Cyr, herself a Veteran as was her late husband Phil. Each bear took about 30 hours of hand and machine stitching. Each bear will wear a purple poppy, a symbol from England to remember animals who are victims of war. The bears will each have a copy of the Veterans Affairs Canada children’s handout ‘Tales of Animals in War.’

The next challenge was how to make the Victory Bears available to CAHS members, the RCAF Association members, and anyone with an interest in military history and teddy bears. It was decided not to sell tickets, but to instead accept $5 donations, which makes the administration of the project so much easier. Each donor gets a donation number, and on 01 July 2025, in the 101st anniversary year of the RCAF, three donors will each receive one bear.

This still did not give the Victory Bear project organizers confidence in the goal of engaging  students in educating them about the military history of their community,  the Canadian Armed Forces, and the purpose and act of Remembrance/Remembrance Day. Consequently, the organizers decided to create miniature replica Victory Bears made - 100% copies of the originals but at half size. Students will have the opportunity to buy student tickets for a nickel, dime, quarter, loonie or toonie. This method gives every student an opportunity to get a ticket. The money raised by the students will stay with the schools.

The Victory Bears will feature prominently at the June 2025 Summerside Air Show. Summerside was the birth place of the RCAF Tartan. Maybe there will be an RCAF Piper Bear in tartan – stayed tuned to find out!

Donations will be accepted until 30 June 2025 as shown on the Victory Bears poster.
Click Here to return to the articles page.