The children’s stories about the accident-prone bear called Paddington, were written by Berkshire-born Michael Bond, CBE (1926-2017). They encompass three classic themes of children’s literature, namely, a humanised animal, an orphaned youngster and, though getting into comical scrapes, successful survival in the outside world. More than 50 Paddington Bear titles are based on his assertion that: “Things are always happening to me. I’m that sort of bear.”
Bond’s purchase of the last teddy bear on the shelf in a London shop on Christmas Eve 1956 and his WW2 memories of child evacuees with small suitcases and labels round their necks were inspirational. His father’s old-fashioned civility in doffing his hat to anyone he met was also rolled up into Paddington’s character. The choice of “darkest Peru” for Paddington’s mysterious origin (where his Aunt Lucy taught him perfect English!) and Paddington’s obsession with marmalade were further ingredients in Bond’s ingenious creation. Nevertheless, although ‘A Bear called Paddington’ was published in 1958, Bond did not leave his job as a BBC cameraman until 1965.
Bond went on to invent other characters, such as Olga da Polga (a pig), and wrote a BBC television series called ‘The Herbs’ (1968-72) featuring Parsley the Lion and Sage the Owl, among others.
(Image: Jazz Guy at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
