'''Mr Whoppit''' was the teddy bear mascot of [[Donald Campbell]], the [[land speed record|land]] and [[water speed record]] holder.

As was his father [[Malcolm Campbell|Sir Malcolm Campbell]], Donald Campbell was highly superstitious. Both consulted spiritualist mediums and fortune tellers, Donald also placed his faith in a lucky mascot, Mr Whoppit. He refused to drive unless Whoppit was with him. One of his wife [[Tonia Bern-Campbell|Tonia]]'s tasks was to hand Whoppit to him on entering the cockpit.<ref name="Tonia Bern-Campbell" >{{cite book

|title=My Speed King

|author=Tonia Bern-Campbell

|isbn=0-7509-2931-6

|publisher=Sutton Publishing

|year=2002

}}</ref>

Whoppit was with Campbell during his serious crash during a land-speed record attempt at the [[Bonneville Salt Flats]] in 1960, driving the [[Bluebird-Proteus_CN7#Bonneville.2C_1960|Proteus Bluebird]].

Campbell was killed during a record attempt on [[Coniston Water|Coniston]] in 1967, while driving the jet hydroplane [[Bluebird K7]]. His body wasn't recovered, although Mr Whoppit floated free and was found almost immediately (Campbell's body was finally located and recovered in 2001).

Campbell also named one of his dogs 'Whoppit'.<ref name="Tonia Bern-Campbell" />

[[Gar Wood]] and his brother George also kept teddy bears tied to their raceboat engines. <ref name="Gar Wppd" >{{cite book

|title=Speed Boat Kings

|author=J. Lee Barrett

|isbn=0-915056-21-6

|publisher=Hardscrabble Books

|year=1986

}}</ref>

==Mr Whoppit's origins==

'Woppit' first appeared as a cartoon strip '[[The story of Woppit]]' about a toy teddy bear, from the first issue of the comic [[Robin (comic)|Robin]] in 1953.<ref name="Bearalley" >{{cite book

|title=Woppit

|author=Steve Holland

|year=2007

}} <nowiki>http://bearalley.blogspot.com/2007/06/woppit.html</nowiki>

</ref> In 1956, [[Merrythought]] manufactured a 9-inch tall Woppit bear wearing a red felt jacket<ref name="Hub" >{{cite book

|title=Collecting character bears

}} <nowiki>http://hubpages.com/hub/Collectable-Teddy-Bears</nowiki>

</ref> and one of these was given to the (adult) Donald by his close friend Peter Barker.<ref name="Tremayne, Behind The Mask" >{{cite book

|title=Donald Campbell: The Man Behind the Mask

|last=Tremayne |first=David |authorlink=David Tremayne

|isbn=0-553-81511-3

|publisher=Bantam Books

|year=2005

}}</ref> On joining the Bluebird team, Woppit acquired a miniature of their "Bluebird" patch sewn to his jacket, later followed by a one-piece flight suit. His name also changed slightly to 'Mr Whoppit'.<ref name="Christies 2003" /> In 1959, both Campbell and Mr Whoppit were photographed together in Robin.

In the late 1990s, Merrythought re-issued a limited production of 5,000 replicas of Mr Whoppit, with the original red jacket now sporting the Bluebird motif.

==With Gina Campbell==

In later years, Donald's daughter [[Gina Campbell]] also adopted Whoppit as a mascot for her own water record-breaking attempts.<ref name="Christies 2003" >{{cite book

|title=Christie's Century of Teddy Bears

|author=Leyla Maniera

|publisher=Pavilion

|year=2003

|isbn=1-86205-595-5

}}</ref> These led to Whoppit's third high-speed crash.

In 1995 she offered him for auction, together with other Campbell memorabilia, although he failed to reach the reserve and remains in her possession.<ref name="Fiat fred" >{{cite web

|title=Fred the bear's hero, Mr Woppit

|url=http://www.fiatforum.com/panda-classic/110707-fred-fiat-bears-hero.html

}}</ref> The decision to auction off Mr Whoppit was a cause of acrimony between Gina Campbell and Donald's widow Tonia Bern-Campbell, which re-surfaced again during the recovery of Bluebird in 2001. <ref name="Telegraph" >{{cite journal

|journal=[[Daily Telegraph]]

|title=Campbells feud over Bluebird wreck

|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1320944/Campbells-feud-over-Bluebird-wreck.html

|author=Daniel Foggo

|date=19 June 2001

}}</ref> In 2001, Whoppit and Gina Campbell returned to [[Coniston, Cumbria|Coniston]] together for Donald's funeral.<ref name="Gina 2001" >{{cite web

|title=Gina Campbell bringing Mr Whoppit to attend Donald's funeral service in Coniston, 2001

|url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidambridge/2562947374/

|format=Photo

|date=12 September 2001

}}</ref>

==References==

{{reflist}}

{{Teddy bears}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whoppit, Mr}}

[[Category:Land speed record people]]

[[Category:Teddy bears]]

[[Category:Ironbridge Gorge]]