Andy Dingley (talk | contribs) |
TheRedPenOfDoom (talk | contribs) Undid revision 590841600 by Andy Dingley (talk) WHAT???? are you nuts? |
||
| Line 44: | Line 44: | ||
==Mr Whoppit's origins== |
==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=" |
'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. 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=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 |
|title=Donald Campbell: The Man Behind the Mask |
||
|last=Tremayne |first=David |authorlink=David Tremayne |
|last=Tremayne |first=David |authorlink=David Tremayne |
||
| Line 70: | Line 62: | ||
|isbn=1-86205-595-5 |
|isbn=1-86205-595-5 |
||
}}</ref> These led to Whoppit's third high-speed crash. |
}}</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 |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
|journal=[[Daily Telegraph]] |
|journal=[[Daily Telegraph]] |
||
|title=Campbells feud over Bluebird wreck |
|title=Campbells feud over Bluebird wreck |
||
| Line 80: | Line 68: | ||
|author=Daniel Foggo |
|author=Daniel Foggo |
||
|date=19 June 2001 |
|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> |
}}</ref> |
||
Revision as of 17:16, 15 January 2014
Mr Whoppit was the teddy bear mascot of Donald Campbell, the land and water speed record holder.
As was his father Sir Malcolm Campbell, Donald Campbell was highly superstitious.[1][2] 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.[1] One of his wife Tonia's tasks was to hand Whoppit to him on entering the cockpit.[3][4]
Whoppit was with Campbell during his serious crash during a land-speed record attempt at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1960, driving the Proteus Bluebird.
Campbell was killed during a record attempt on 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'.[3]
Gar Wood and his brother George also kept teddy bears tied to their raceboat engines. [5]
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 in 1953. and one of these was given to the (adult) Donald by his close friend Peter Barker.[6] 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'.[7] 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.[8]
With Gina Campbell
In later years, Donald's daughter Gina Campbell also adopted Whoppit as a mascot for her own water record-breaking attempts.[7] These led to Whoppit's third high-speed crash. 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. [9]
References
- ^ a b Knowles, Arthur (2001). The Bluebird Years. Sigma Leisure. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-85058-766-8.
- ^ Knowles & The Bluebird Years, p. 136
- ^ a b Tonia Bern-Campbell (2002). My Speed King. Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-2931-6.
- ^ Pearson, John (2002). Bluebird and the Dead Lake. Aurum Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-78131-172-1.
- ^ J. Lee Barrett (1986). Speed Boat Kings. Hardscrabble Books. ISBN 0-915056-21-6.
- ^ Tremayne, David (2005). Donald Campbell: The Man Behind the Mask. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-81511-3.
- ^ a b Leyla Maniera (2003). Christie's Century of Teddy Bears. Pavilion. ISBN 1-86205-595-5.
- ^ "Bears with Rich History" Middlesborough Evening Gazette, April 18, 2012, p.18
- ^ Daniel Foggo (19 June 2001). "Campbells feud over Bluebird wreck". Daily Telegraph.