Paddington Bear

I have always loved Paddington Bear. ‘A Bear Called Paddington’ was one of my favourite books as a child and I always longed for one of the Paddington Bear teddy bears in ‘real’ wellies. Well mannered and well intentioned, this stowaway from Peru found a home with the Brown family and Mrs Bird at 32, Windsor Gardens. Being ‘that sort of bear’, things are always happening to Paddington and his many adventures, written by Michael Bond, have been in print since 1958.

A sculpture of this adorable bear was created by Marcus Cornish in 2000. Cast in bronze, the statue stands on Platform 1 at Paddington Station under the clock and was unveiled by Michael Bond on the 24th February 2000. Like many people, I cannot resist patting the statue on the nose whenever I’m at the station. When the ‘Paddington Trail’ of 50 statues was found across London in (I think!) 2014, I dragged my husband and son around to see as many of them as we could manage, but this remains my favourite!

Although today’s children are probably first introduced to Paddington through the recent films, these books were very much part of my childhood. Although Paddington has been brought to life by illustrators and animators over the decades, for me, Peggy Fortnum’s illustrations capture his antics perfectly and will always be how I ‘see’ Paddington!

In 2015, I went to the Seven Stories exhibition dedicated to this loveable character. Packed with original manuscripts and illustrations, including rare work by Peggy Fortnum, it was a pleasure to explore. Unfortunately, I missed the one at the British Library in 2021!

Since he first appeared on 13 October 1958 in ‘A Bear Called Paddington’, Paddington has been delighting readers in countries across the world. The books have sold more than thirty-five million copies worldwide and have been translated into over forty different languages, including Latin. Paddington will always be a firm favourite!