| Revision as of 23:00, 14 January 2014 editTheRedPenOfDoom (talk | contribs)Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers135,756 edits user generated← Previous edit | Revision as of 23:01, 14 January 2014 edit undoTheRedPenOfDoom (talk | contribs)Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers135,756 edits non notableNext edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| #REDIRECT ] | |||
| '''Mr Whoppit''' was the teddy bear mascot of ], the ] and ] holder. | |||
| As was his father ], 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 ]'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 ] in 1960, driving the ]. | |||
| Campbell was killed during a record attempt on ] in 1967, while driving the jet hydroplane ]. 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" /> | |||
| ] 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 ']' about a toy teddy bear, from the first issue of the comic ] in 1953. In 1956, ] manufactured a 9-inch tall Woppit bear wearing a red felt jacket 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 ] 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=] | |||
| |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 ] 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}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Revision as of 23:01, 14 January 2014
Redirect to: