The character Winnie the Pooh was based on a bear named Winnipeg (after the Canadian province of Winnipeg). The name was given to him by Lieutenant Harry Colbert of the Canadian army. Colbert had volunteered for service in World War One and bought the cub from a hunter at a train stop. The bear's mother had died or was killed. Colbert turned the bear into his regiment's mascot, taking it to England with him where it was eventually given to the London Zoo when the Canadians were sent to France. It was at the zoo that Winnipeg was discovered by the son of Allen Mill. Mill went on the write Winnie the Pooh for his son, Christopher Robin.
