During the first World War troops from Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada) were being transported to eastern Canada, on their way overseas to Europe where they should join the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade. When the train stopped at White River, Ontario, a lieutenant called Harry Colebourn bought a small female black bear cub for $20 from a hunter who had killed its mother. He named her 'Winnipeg', after his hometown of Winnipeg, or 'Winnie' for short.

Winnie became the mascot of the Brigade and went to Britain with the unit. When the Brigade was posted to the battlefields of France, Lt. Colebourn took Winnie to the London Zoo for a long loan. Formally Colebourn presented the London Zoo with Winnie in December 1919 where it became a popular attraction and lived until 1934.

The bear was also very popular by Christopher Robin, son of author A.A. Milne. It was his favorite at the zoo, and he often spent time inside the cage with it. The bear was Christopher Robin's inspiration for calling his own teddy bear Winnie.... Winnie the Pooh (this teddy bear started out with the name of Edward Bear). The name of Pooh originally belonged to a swan, as can be seen in a poem from Milne's When We Were Very Young.