Wojtek the Bear and the Battle of Monte Cassino

That the Parliament recognises that 18 May 2024 marked a commemoration event, at Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, of Wojtek the Bear and the soldiers who fought in the Battle of Monte Cassino, 80 years ago; understands that the organisation Wojtek Scotland and author, Aileen Orr, led the event on Wojtek Day, and that there were speeches from the Polish Consul and from Aileen Orr, author of Wojtek the Bear Polish War Hero, as well as many other dignitaries, including from Ukraine; notes that the theme of the occasion was a celebration of Polish and Scottish links, and common history, as a universal symbol of unity between different cultures, backgrounds and ethnicities; understands that Wojtek was a brown bear adopted by a contingent of Polish men, women and children in April 1942, in the highlands of Iran, from a hungry boy who traded the bear cub for some local currency and food, and that the bear then joined what would become the 2nd Polish Corps (later 22nd Company, Polish Army Service Corps (Artillery)) and travelled with them through Palestine and Italy, where they took part in the Battle of Monte Cassino, before coming to Scotland; notes with interest reports that Wojtek was awarded the honorary rank of private to get around restrictions on a transport ship taking the soldiers from Egypt to Italy and that, for his work during the Battle of Monte Cassino, carrying shells for the artillery guns, he was promoted to corporal and was incorporated into the badge of the company; understands that, on arrival in Scotland, Wojtek stayed with the soldiers on a farm in Berwickshire but was later moved to Edinburgh Zoo and that, thanks to the work of Wojtek Scotland, Wojtek’s statues have been erected at a number of places in different countries, one of which is in Edinburgh in Princes Street Gardens, and thanks Aileen Orr, also a serving Scottish Borders Councillor, for the work she has done to ensure that Wojtek’s legacy lives on and for all that she has done to foster relations between Scotland, Poland and many other nations.