At the time of his death, Mr Bond was 91, and had been writing children’s books right up until the end, his last Paddington book, Paddington’s Finest Hour, being published in April 2017.
He was born in Berkshire in 1926, and, like many of us here at Brighton Toy and Model Museum, he had a love of trains which developed from a young age. Once he was an adult, having served in the RAF and in the army in Cairo, where he discovered his love of writing, he never moved far away from Paddington station, and it continued to inspire many of the bear’s adventures.
While Paddington Bear is undoubtedly his most successful creation, appearing in at least 27 Bond authored books, several animated television series and movies, there were other strings to Bond’s bow. Olga da Polga was a guinea pig who lived in something of a fantasy land like that of Walter Mitty. She had no time for the mundane or banal, so everyday events would be elaborated into exciting adventures which would unfortunately be contradicted by Olga’s owners, the Sawdust family.
Monsieur Pamplemousse also featured in many books and stands alone as being both a main character who is human, and is principally aimed at an adult audience. He is largely unknown today as he diverges so far from Bond’s usual work, but he is an entertaining, put-upon character ably supported by Pommes Frites, his trusty bloodhound who offers dogs’ eye view sardonic asides when called for.
But it’s Paddington Bear for whom Michael Bond will be best and most fondly remembered. Alone and lost when he arrives in Paddington train station, having left his Great Aunt Lucy behind in Darkest Peru, he’s taken in by the Browns. They look after him, treat him to marmalade sandwiches and come to the rescue in many of his adventures.
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