THE culmination of years of work to recount the story of Wojtek the bear - which is famous in Poland - comes to fruition in Edinburgh today.
But the dedication of the members of the Wojtek Memorial Trust, made up of Scots and Poles, has ensured the bear will stand as a permanent memorial to the soldiers who saved and adopted the Syrian brown bear, and their connection with Scotland.
Wojtek was an orphan cub when rescued by young Poles as they made their way to the Middle East to join the Free Polish Army in Britain after surviving the hardships of deportation to Siberia.
Sculptor Alan Beattie Heriot said it was a privilege to create the memorial which will be unveiled in Princes Street Gardens today.
His striking work includes a panel funded by the Scottish Government, while the Polish Government also contributed.
The unveiling was due to be carried out by Donald Wilson, Edinburgh's Lord Provost, and Witold Sobkow, Polish Ambassador to the UK, and Polish military veterans.
Wojtek came to Scotland with the Polish troops towards the end of the Second World War and stayed in their camp in the Borders, but he also became part of the community and would delight families when he attended events untethered.
Eventually settling in Edinburgh Zoo, the aged Wojtek would suddenly become animated when his old soldier compatriots visited and spoke to him in Polish.
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