Monday, August 24, 1914. The Great Retreat and Winnie The Pooh.

 

The Great Retreat began.  French and British units began withdrawing, with British cavalry providing cover in the Action of Elouges.

The French 1st and 2nd Armies stopped the German offensive at Lorraine.

The Germans entered Gerbéviller and destroyed 80% of its buildings.

Lt. Harry Colebourn of The Fort Garry Horse purchased an orphaned bear cub at a train stop in White River, Ontario.  He named the bear Winnipeg Bear, which became Winnie for short and became the model for Winnie the Pooh.

Colebourn, a veterinarian, entrusted the bear to the London Zoo in 1915 when his unit deployed to France.  He determined to let the beloved bear remain there after the war, where it lived out the rest of its life.  Colebourn returned to private practice in Canada, retired at age 58 in 1945, and died at age 60 in 1947.

Last edition:

Sunday, August 23, 1914. Maurice James Dease

Labels: 1910s, 1914, Austro Hungarian Army, Battle of Tannenberg, Battle of the Frontiers, Belgium, British Army, Francs-tireurs, Heroes, Imperial Russian Army, Ireland, Mons, New Zealand, United Kingdom, World War One