The internationally popular Winnie the Pooh books were written by A.A.Milne in the 1920s. Winnie the Pooh was written in 1926 and The House at Pooh Corner in 1928. Milne named the character of Christopher Robin after his son, and the other characters after his son's toys.

The name 'Winnie' came from a bear that Milne had seen in London Zoo called 'Winnipeg' - the bear's gentle and playful nature is what inspired Milne when creating the character of Winnie the Pooh, and the 'Hundred Acre Wood' in which the stories are set was inspired by the Five Hundred Acre Wood near to where Milne lived in East Sussex.

From the 1930s the illustrator/producer Stephen Slesinger adapted the books for theatre, radio and TV. Some of the books were also later turned into story telling recordings by famous personalities such as James Stewart and Gene Kelly. In 1963 the rights were sold to Disney who made three feature length Winnie the Pooh films.

Winnie the Pooh has become an internationally recognised character and an Icon of England. The books have been translated into almost every language, and are especially popular in Russia and in Poland  - there is even a street in Warsaw named after him.

This stamp below is from the International Year of the Child issue from July 1979.

Illustration

Winnie the Pooh stamp, July 1979