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Place of Use Continent - North America, Country - Canada
Category Recreational artifacts
Sub-category Toy
Department Arms and Technology
Museum CWM
Earliest 1910/01/01
Latest 1915/12/31
Materials Fibre unidentified
Measurements Length 12.2 cm, Width 9.0 cm, Depth 3.0 cm

Caption The Rogers Teddy Bear
Additional Information In 1916, ten-year-old Aileen Rogers sent to France a special gift for her father, Lieutenant Lawrence Browning Rogers of the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles, who was serving on the Western Front. Intended as both a good luck charm and a memento of home, Aileen's gift was a small teddy bear. The following year, Lieutenant Rogers, along with thousands of other Canadian soldiers, was killed at the battle of Passchendaele. In one of his pockets, his comrades found Aileen's teddy bear, which they shipped back to her family in Canada. Eighty-five years later, Lieutenant Rogers' granddaughter, Roberta Rogers Innes, found an old briefcase. Inside was the teddy bear, along with letters and other war memorabilia. Roberta later donated the teddy bear to the Canadian War Museum, where it became one of the Museum's most beloved artifacts.
Caption Teddy Bear
Additional Information Lieutenant Lawrence Rogers carried this teddy bear with him every day in the trenches. It was a gift from his ten-year old daughter, Aileen, who hoped it would keep him safe. When Rogers was killed in battle in 1917, the bear was found in his pocket. Rogers never had a chance to read this letter from his 7-year old son, Howard. It arrived after his death. The military returned both items to the family. They remain treasured links to a father, and then a grandfather, who had left to fight for King and country, and never returned.
Caption Teddy Bear
Additional Information Ten-year-old Aileen Rogers gave this bear to her father, Lieutenant Lawrence Browning Rogers, before he left for war. The gift was meant as both a good luck charm and as a memento of home. Rogers, a lieutenant with the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles, was killed by enemy fire at Passchendaele in 1917, as he tended to a wounded soldier. This bear was found in Rogers' pocket and returned home to his family.