By Pamela Walsh
The trauma-informed perspective through a different lens. With the help of one fellow that many of us grew up with or are at least familiar with, that has been showing us how to move from “what is wrong with you” to “what happened to you,” and we likely don’t even know what he has been teaching us. You may have hugged him many times and passed him down to your children, nieces, or nephews. Perhaps he was your favourite bedtime story or movie. We would be hard-pressed to find someone who has not heard of Winnie the Pooh. Yet very few people are aware that he and his friends have been teaching us about trauma since the first time we heard of him playing in the hundred-acre wood.
Only A. A. Milne knows the real story of why he created the lovable Pooh and his cast of friends. Each appears to have different psychological disorders. This might have been to explain to terrified young Christopher Robin when Milne confused buzzing bees with the sound of bullets or why popping balloons sent him diving for cover. Was this Milne’s way to explain “Shell shock”? Or was it simply Milne using writing to cope with PTSD? We will never know. We know that the once-shirtless brown bear grew into a bright yellow bear, with the unmistakable red shirt delighting generations of children. Showing us empathy, compassion, and true friendship with solid, lasting bonds means you always have someone to lean on. As Piglet said,” The things that make me different are the things that make me, me.”
How did this band of characters from a book help explain trauma to children? How can they help adults see through the eyes of Christopher Robin to help them explain trauma to children or even themselves? To understand this, first, we should learn how Pooh was created. Many people are unaware of the link between Winnie the Pooh and Canada. A young Canadian soldier and veterinarian, Harry Colebourn, was headed to Quebec to be deployed overseas in WWI. At a stop at White River, Ontario train station Harry got off the train to stretch his legs. This resulted in a conversation with a local hunter, who explained, he had shot his mother but couldn’t bring the same fate to the young bear. Harry bought the little black bear cub, and the first connection to trauma was made. To honour his adopted hometown, the little cub was named “Winnipeg Bear,” and the nickname Winnie stuck. As he deployed overseas, he walked onto the ship and brought Winne along. He instantly became a hit and became the mascot for Harry’s unit. Only Winnie wasn’t a he but rather she, but that didn’t matter; she was woven into their lives and was a member of the team and gave the brigade many hours of play during their downtime.
Winnie the bear with Harry Colebourn. (Lindsay Mattick/AP/Canadian Press) from cbc.ca
A call for deployment to France and the front lines also came with orders that Winnie could not go. Instead, Harry deployed Winnie to the London Zoo. This was meant to be temporary, with Harry expecting to pick up Winnie when he returned from France. However, over the three years Harry was gone, Winnie won the hearts of those who visited her, becoming one of the most popular animals. Her initial deployment and play with the soldiers gave her a calm demeanour so that children could feed her and even ride on her back. Honey was not her favourite treat. Instead, it was condensed milk mixed with corn syrup, but like honey, it was very sticky! Harry came to the eventual reality that her stay was to be permanent. Winnie had many visitors, but A.A. Milne and Christopher Robin were her most frequent visitor. Christopher Robin decided his long-time bear Edward needed a name change, and he combined Winnie with a pet Swan named Pooh and Winne the Pooh was born. As the saying goes, the rest is history.
The Nightmares of WWI brought a bear, a boy and a WW I vet together, which led to the magical world of hundred-acre wood that shared the inner play of a young mind, the words of a gifted but war-traumatized soldier combined with the creative sketches of E.H. Shephard breathed life into stories that still helps children almost a 100 years later.
Next in the series, The Magical World of a Hundred Acre Wood!
