Polar bear in Portsmouth Harbour

Barbara the polar bear cub was rescued from drifting ice off Greenland during the Second World War.

Sailors took her on board their cruiser and made her their mascot.

When she outgrew her accommodation she was dropped off on Whale Island in Portsmouth Harbour where the sailors’ zoo had been established since 1893.

In 1975 the Royal Navy banned the practice of taking animal mascots to sea.