The origins of Paddington Bear

Bears seem to make some of the best fictional characters, and you only have to look as far as Winnie the Pooh and Rupert the Bear for prime examples. There is though another fictional bear that is as loved by many, and that is the one and only Paddington Bear.

In many ways Paddington Bear is singularly English, and yet he has universal appeal, with the stories translated for reading around the world.

Paddington Bear - Chris McKenna - CC-BY-SA-3.0

The origins of Paddington Bear can be traced back to Christmas Eve 1956, when Michael Bond, a BBC cameraman happened upon a lonely bear on the shelf of a shop in London. Bond would buy the bear for his wife, Brenda, and soon it was given the name Paddington; the bear being named for the railway station that was near to their house.

The bear would then become the focus for some short stories written by Bond; stories written for his own amusement rather than for profit. Soon though these stories had evolved into a book; a book which was well received by the publishers, William Collins & Sons.

The marmalade loving bear was now available to the public.

Having come up with the notion of Paddington Bear, Michael Bond also had to come up with the back story or origins of the fictional bear; and many elements to the life story of Paddington Bear were told in the first book, “A Bear called Paddington”.

Paddington was of course famously found on a railway platform at Paddington station, where he was found by Mr and Mrs Brown. With a sign around his neck asking “Please Look After This Bear. Thank You”, it was perhaps only natural that the Browns would take Paddington home to 32 Windsor Gardens to live.

Paddington at Paddington - Democoma - CC-BY-SA-3.0

Over time we find out a lot more about Paddington’s life before his discovery by the Browns though. We find that his name is actually Pastuso and he is an orphan. Paddington was born in Deepest, Darkest Peru were he was raised by his Aunt Lucy. Aunt Lucy though had gone to live in Lima’s Home for Retired Bears, and so it was decided that the best thing for Paddington was to seek out a new life in England. Paddington thus had stowed away on a ship bound for England, living in one of the ship’s lifeboats, and living off of marmalade sandwiches.

Thus it was that one of Britain’s best loved fictional characters came into existence, and fifty years on the sight of a bear dressed in duffle coat and old hat, a marmalade sandwich in one hand and a suitcase in another is enough to make most people crack a smile.

Copyright - First Published 23rd February 2012