ACTRESS Rula Lenska has revealed a family connection with the story of a world-famous bear adopted by Polish soldiers who came to Scotland.
The star is to outline her links to Wojtek “the soldier bear” commemorated by a statue in Edinburgh’s Princes Street Gardens today.
Wojtek was an orphan cub when rescued by young Poles in 1943 as they made their way to the Middle East after surviving the hardships of deportation to Siberia.
They hid the Syrian brown bear from their senior officers in the Free Polish Army but, when the secret was revealed, they gained permission to keep him as a mascot.
Read more: Watch - Wojtek 'reunited' with Polish soldier in memorial
When Polish forces were deployed across Europe during the Second World War, the troops refused to leave him behind.
The only way Wojtek could be transported was under an official passport, so he was duly granted an army serial number and the rank of private.
After the war, the bear lived with Polish troops based in the Scottish Borders. He was later given a home at Edinburgh Zoo.
Lenska, the former East Enders and Minder star who has Polish heritage, is said to have a poignant family connection with Wojtek’s history.
Read more: Watch - Wojtek 'reunited' with Polish soldier in memorial
A publicist for the 68-year-old said: “Although born in Cambridgeshire, her aristocratic family hail from Poland, where they owned a castle and estate in Dzików.
“Her father was a personal secretary to Józef Beck, the Minister for Foreign Affairs in pre-1939 Poland. Later he held important positions in relation to the Polish government and military missions during the Second World War.
"Her mother Countess Elzbieta Tyszkiewicz shares an equally dramatic story, escaping from Nazi-occupied Poland to Italy, then to survive two years in Ravensbrück concentration camp.”
Read more: Watch - Wojtek 'reunited' with Polish soldier in memorial
Lenska is to talk about her family’s connection to the history of Wojtek at an event which also involves Edinburgh-based financier Peter de Vink — a key fundraiser in the campaign to commemorate the bear and the Polish troops who helped Scotland during the war.
Wojtek, who reportedly carried supplies of ammunition with troops at the battle of Monte Cassino in Italy, was moved to Edinburgh Zoo in 1947 and lived there until his death in 1963.
His story has become a symbol of the Scots and Polish communities’ linked history.
Read more: Watch - Wojtek 'reunited' with Polish soldier in memorial
The Wojtek Memorial Trust raised £300,000 for a permanent tribute to the bear, with a statue by Alan Beattie Herriot, above, being unveiled last year.
The memorial, which includes a four-metre relief panel detailing six scenes from Wojtek’s life, draws visitors from all over the world.
Lenska, who appeared on Celebrity Big Brother with former MP George Galloway, is in Edinburgh to perform in Eurobeat at the Pleasance Grand.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here