OBITUARIES following the death of much-loved children’s author Michael Bond this week have revealed how his creation Paddington Bear was shaped, in part, by holidays to the Isle of Wight.
The writer, who died on Tuesday, aged 91, was born in Newbury.
During a prolific career, Mr Bond also created The Herbs and its famous character Parsley the Lion.
But it was for his Peruvian bear Paddington that he would become best known.
Mr Bond revealed that much of Paddington’s character was based on that of his father, and in an interview he highlighted how eccentricity on family holiday’s to the Isle of Wight played a role.
"My father was a very polite man and he always wore a hat," Bond said. "We'd go on holiday to the Isle of Wight and he used to go in the sea with his trousers rolled up and keep his hat on in case he met someone he knew and would have something to raise. He would have been mortified if he hadn't."