British Author in his own right, he was better known for being the son of famous author A. A. Milne, who wrote the celebrated "Winnie the Pooh" stories. Born the only child of Alan Alexander "A. A." Milne and Daphne "Dorothy" de Selincourt Milne, he was raised mostly by his nanny. It was his father's writings, beginning in 1925 with his first book, "When We were Young," and using his name in the stories about a six year old boy and his make-believe world of animals, that so endeared him to the world. Although he had a real teddy bear as a child, and several toy animals, the world of Winnie the Pooh is a clever combination of his son's toys, the toys of a family friend, and make-believe. As Christopher Milne grew up, he would endure the teasing from his classmates and unwanted attention from strangers about being the subject of so famous a series of children's books. As a result of this attention given his son, his father decided that the book "The House at Pooh Corner" (1929) would be the last Pooh book. Despite that decision, Christopher Robin Milne had to live with the fame that the popular books gave him. He was just finishing his first year at Trinity College in Cambridge when World War II broke out in September 1939. He left school to join the Local Defense Volunteers (Home Guard), and in February 1941, enlisted in the Royal Engineers, assigned to the 56th Division in London. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in July 1942 in the 56th Division. In November 1942, the division was sent to Kirkuk, Iraq, and four months later, sent to Tunisia, where Christopher caught malaria. As an Engineer officer, he built Bailey Bridges and dismantled minefields. Later, he was sent to Italy, and in October 1944, he was severely wounded near Sant Archangelo, Italy, when shrapnel hit him in the head. After a couple of months in the hospital, he rejoined his unit in Italy, and was released from the Army at the end of the war. His war experiences later made him opposed to war. Returning to Trinity College, he completed his studies and was awarded a degree in English. On July 24, 1948, he married his first cousin, Lesley de Selincourt, whose father, Aubrey de Selincourt, was his maternal uncle; it was a match his parents did not approve of. They would have one child, a daughter Clara, who was born with cerebral palsy. They moved to Stoke Fleming and opened a bookshop, called "The Harbour Bookshop" in Dartmouth. In 1974, he published his first book, "The Enchanted Places," soon to be followed by "The Path Through the Trees" (1979), "The Hollow on the Hill" (1982), and "The Open Garden" (1988). When deforestation threatened Asdown Forest (the real forest that was "hundred acre wood" in Pooh's world), he came out in support of keeping it untouched. Christopher Robin Milne died in his sleep of myasthenia gravis, a neurological disease, at Torbay Hospital near his home in Stoke Fleming, England. His body was cremated, following a service at the Quaker Meeting house in Totnes. (Bio by Kit and Morgan Benson)
British Author in his own right, he was better known for being the son of famous author A. A. Milne, who wrote the celebrated "Winnie the Pooh" stories. Born the only child of Alan Alexander "A. A." Milne and Daphne "Dorothy" de Selincourt Milne, he was raised mostly by his nanny. It was his father's writings, beginning in 1925 with his first book, "When We were Young," and using his name in the stories about a six year old boy and his make-believe world of animals, that so endeared him to the world. Although he had a real teddy bear as a child, and several toy animals, the world of Winnie the Pooh is a clever combination of his son's toys, the toys of a family friend, and make-believe. As Christopher Milne grew up, he would endure the teasing from his classmates and unwanted attention from strangers about being the subject of so famous a series of children's books. As a result of this attention given his son, his father decided that the book "The House at Pooh Corner" (1929) would be the last Pooh book. Despite that decision, Christopher Robin Milne had to live with the fame that the popular books gave him. He was just finishing his first year at Trinity College in Cambridge when World War II broke out in September 1939. He left school to join the Local Defense Volunteers (Home Guard), and in February 1941, enlisted in the Royal Engineers, assigned to the 56th Division in London. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in July 1942 in the 56th Division. In November 1942, the division was sent to Kirkuk, Iraq, and four months later, sent to Tunisia, where Christopher caught malaria. As an Engineer officer, he built Bailey Bridges and dismantled minefields. Later, he was sent to Italy, and in October 1944, he was severely wounded near Sant Archangelo, Italy, when shrapnel hit him in the head. After a couple of months in the hospital, he rejoined his unit in Italy, and was released from the Army at the end of the war. His war experiences later made him opposed to war. Returning to Trinity College, he completed his studies and was awarded a degree in English. On July 24, 1948, he married his first cousin, Lesley de Selincourt, whose father, Aubrey de Selincourt, was his maternal uncle; it was a match his parents did not approve of. They would have one child, a daughter Clara, who was born with cerebral palsy. They moved to Stoke Fleming and opened a bookshop, called "The Harbour Bookshop" in Dartmouth. In 1974, he published his first book, "The Enchanted Places," soon to be followed by "The Path Through the Trees" (1979), "The Hollow on the Hill" (1982), and "The Open Garden" (1988). When deforestation threatened Asdown Forest (the real forest that was "hundred acre wood" in Pooh's world), he came out in support of keeping it untouched. Christopher Robin Milne died in his sleep of myasthenia gravis, a neurological disease, at Torbay Hospital near his home in Stoke Fleming, England. His body was cremated, following a service at the Quaker Meeting house in Totnes. (Bio by Kit and Morgan Benson)
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