The afternoon of Saturday 22 August saw the unveiling of Haslemere’s 17th blue plaque, commemorating the wonderfully talented writer and creator of Paddington Bear, Michael Bond CBE.

The Blue Plaque scheme is orchestrated and run by the Haslemere Society. They have been commemorating historic figures with connections to Haslemere for nearly twenty years. The society had been aware of Michael Bond’s connections to the town for a while. However, it is only now that they have been able to commemorate him. This is due to strict rules that state that the person being recognised needs to have been deceased for at least twenty years or we need to have passed the centenary of their birth (whichever comes soonest). Had he still been alive, Michael Bond would have celebrated his 100th birthday on 13 January 2026 hence the criteria have now been met.

Michael Bond’s blue plaque takes pride of place on the home on Farnham Lane where he once lived and wrote about the adventures of his loveable characters.

Michael Bond in Haslemere

On Christmas Eve 1956, Michael had purchased a small solitary bear that he had found sat on a shelf in a store in Selfridges. The price – seven shillings and sixpence – was actually rather a lot of money in those days but it was a gift for his wife Brenda and they named the bear after the nearby Paddington Station. Of course, this bear went on to repay him in ways he could never have dreamed of.

He wrote the first Paddington book in just 10 days but it took a while to find a publisher willing to back him. In the end, William Collins took a chance on A Bear called Paddington and it was published on 13 October 1958, just a couple of months after the birth of Michael and Brenda’s first child, Karen.

Michael and his family moved to the house – Fairacre – in Haslemere in 1968 and lived here for the next decade. It was in the study overlooking the garden that he wrote a number of Paddington books, the scripts for the original Paddington TV series as well as the first three Olga da Polga stories. The latter may be less well known than Paddington, but we recommend Haslemere residents enjoy a read of them – the stories feature many well-known spots in and around our town.

Three Paddington stories were written at Fairacre – Paddington Takes the Air (1970), Paddington on Top (1974) and Paddington Takes the Test (1979) along with a number of picture books for younger audiences.

Michael Bond eventually moved to London in the late 1970s and continued writing. His other works include a series of adult mystery books – Monsieur Pamplemousse.

The History of Paddington Bear

By the time Michael Bond moved to Haslemere, Paddington Bear was already well on the way to becoming a well-loved national treasure! He had first appeared on the scene back in 1958 in A Bear Called Paddington, and quickly captured the hearts of a nation. So loved has he become that in 1994, when the Channel Tunnel finally linked British workers with their French counterparts, the Brits handed over a Paddington Bear to their continental colleagues as a gift. More recently, Paddington’s adventures have been captured on the big screen. The first Paddington movie was released in 2014, followed by Paddington 2 in 2017 and Paddington in Peru in 2024. Another film is planned for release in late 2027 or early 2028. You can even capture a musical version of the UK’s most loveable bear in London these days too.

And, of course, who can forget Paddington enjoying tea with the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee in 2022. 

The unveiling of the plaque

The sun shone down on attendees for the unveiling of the Blue Plaque to commemorate Michael Bond. Chris Harrison, Chair of the Haslemere Society, gave a warm welcome to everyone before handing over to Karen, Michael Bond’s daughter. Karen grew up at Fairacre and reminisced about the happy childhood she enjoyed there. It was actually her pet guinea pig that inspired the Olga da Polga series of stories – The Tales of Olga da Polga (1971), Olga Meets her Match (1973) and Olga Carries On (1977).

Karen thanked the current owners – Stephanie and Neil. She had also brought along one of her mother’s original Gabriel Designs Paddington to show those attending. The bear came complete with a ‘Please look after this bear’ label as well as a Concorde cabin baggage label as this particular bear apparently once travelled in the cockpit of a Concorde flight. As well as that, in its jacket pocket sits Karen’s childhood Haslemere library card. 

Tours of the property followed. Karen readily admitted how strange it was to be giving a guided tour of a house that once used to be hers but now belonged to someone else! However, whilst the house has been re-modelled since her time there, the basic house remains the same. She showed visitors the room where the family used to eat together, describing how Paddington was always part of the Bond family and sat with them during meal times. What is now one of the family bedrooms was once Michael’s study, with large dual aspect windows looking out over a beautiful garden below. With light flooding in, it's easy to see how this spot could inspire such creativity. Back in the 1970s, the study would also have had a view of the small outhouse that was home to Karen’s guinea pig, Olga.

And, of course, the celebration culminated in plenty of marmalade sandwiches, cake and tea out on the terrace. So many people had turned up including the previous occupants of the house who had made the journey from their current home in Exeter to be there. They told us that a herb garden that sat to one side of the house (now no longer there) inspired Bond’s children’s TV series, The Herbs as well as Parsley the Lion.

We also loved hearing from one attendee about the origins of Paddington’s famous red wellies. It turns out that the original bear actually didn’t wear any shoes. However, back in the 1960s, Shirley Clarkson (mother of Jeremy Clarkson) used to run a small company making soft toys. One Christmas, she made two bears who looked very like Paddington for her children, which then went into production and found their way into shops. These were spotted either by Michael Bond or his agent, solicitors were called, and Shirley and her husband Eddie were summoned to a meeting. However, by chance, Michael Bond and the couple got into the same lift on their way to the meeting. And the story goes that, by the time they reached the meeting room, a deal had been struck. Shirley was granted the very first Paddington license. But the agreement was that she could not start making the bears until Michael Bond had written the story of how Britain's favourite bear first came to wear wellington boots.

Everyone on Saturday had their own story to tell and their own reasons for loving Paddington. But, it was clear from speaking to everyone present that there is something about this bear from deepest, darkest Peru that warms all our hearts. His kindness and politeness has made him one of Britain’s most enduring fictional characters.

Karen Jankell

Michael Bond’s daughter has spent decades protecting and promoting her father’s legacy. She actually worked with him on a number of picture books and, since his death in 2017, has looked after her father’s literary estate. She describes this role as both a ‘joy’ and a ‘privilege’.

Michael Bond passed away in 2017 and is buried in Paddington Old Cemetary. His headstone bears the simple inscription, ‘Please look after this bear. Thank you.’