Wiltshire Council's library service marks historical links to the Canadian Army and Winnie-the-Pooh at a special event

A piece of wood hung up in the store at Devizes Library by a Wiltshire Council employee, bearing the intriguing inscription 'Maple Leaf Villa'.

Wayne Dicker from Wiltshire Council's IT team saw the seemingly non-descript item and was immediately intrigued. Wayne said: I was asked to attend the Devizes Library site to fix a laptop fault. Whilst waiting for a laptop to do some updates in the back-office stockroom I looked around and spotted the Wooden plaque hanging on the wall. I was interested straight away because of the wording 'Maple Leaf Villa'. Being Ex Forces and having worked with the Canadian Army, I took a closer look.

What struck me next was the wording someone had put underneath the plaque indicating it was from an ex Canadian Army Hut and had relevance to the first Library HQ in Great Britain, and also dating back to 1914. I was startled that this wooden plaque was so old and if it was validated as a genuine item it would be over 100 years old. I got people into this and it uncovered the story. I'm very pleased that I started something off that at first may have just seemed to be an old piece of a wooden hut but it has uncovered hundreds of years of missing history and history that needed to be remembered.

This discovery sparked a lively discussion, leading to Ian Hicks, Collections Manager at the council's Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre in Chippenham, delving into the history and provenance of this long-forgotten piece of Wiltshire's heritage. Ian's expert knowledge of the archives led him to uncover an enthralling story with an unexpected twist.  

The first Wiltshire library headquarters was not just any building but an ex-Canadian Army hut, purchased by Wiltshire County Council in 1919 from Old Sarum Aerodrome for £100. The humble-looking structure, re-erected on the grounds of Trowbridge Adcroft Council Boys' School on Prospect Place, was christened by the Canadian Army as the 'Maple Leaf Villa'.

In 1934 the opening of the new County Library Headquarters took place. This purpose-built, single-storey brick building was erected next to the hut. However, it was decided that the hut could still serve a purpose, and it continued to be used alongside the new building for more than 30 years, until 1969.  At the beginning of that year, the headquarters moved from Prospect Place, where it had been for nearly 50 years, to the former Airsprung mattress factory called 'Chapman's' after the factory founder Hedley Chapman. This building, opposite County Hall, provided more space and better facilities for the service. It remained until 2015/16 when it moved to Devizes Library, where operations continue today.

The hut's name, given by the Canadian Army in 1914/15, had faded and was nearly lost until the vigilant library staff members decided to rescue the name board and take it to the new library headquarters. It was mounted onto a bookshelf and hung on the corridor wall. The following words are noted on the new mount:

"The original name board of the first library H.Q. to be erected in Great Britain. A 1914-18 War Canadian Army hut from Salisbury Plain. Re-erected in Trowbridge in 1919 and vacated by Library H.Q. in 1969."

The research into the library headquarters also highlighted another little-known story. In 1914, Lieutenant Harry Colborn of the Royal Canadian Army Veterinary Corps, The Fort Garry Horse cavalry regiment, brought over from Canada to Salisbury Plain an American black bear, which he affectionately named Winnie, after his hometown of Winnipeg. Harry left Winnie in the care of London Zoo when he went to fight in Europe. In 1924, A.A. Milne regularly took his son, Christopher Robin Milne, to see Winnie. Christopher's love for Winnie inspired A.A. Milne to create the beloved fictional character Winnie-the-Pooh.

Ian Hicks said: This project has been an opportunity to highlight Wiltshire's rich archival history. Utilizing the extensive archive and local studies collections held at the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre, we are able to tell this captivating story with many elements, all with a Wiltshire connection. I have truly enjoyed working on this project, which, with all archival research, has been a voyage of discovery.

Cllr Ian Blair-Pilling, Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member for Libraries said: A discovery of a seemingly humble item has resulted in a fascinating glimpse into the county's history, particularly our long standing and proud association with the Armed Forces, as well as our own library service.

It's only fitting that our library service shares a history with one of the most popular literary characters, Winnie-the-Pooh and I'm delighted more can now be found out about this. I encourage people to go and take a look at the display because it's a brilliant story, one of thousands to be found at our libraries.

To mark this piece of unique history, an event was held on 11 October at Trowbridge Library to unveil a permanent plaque, and to launch an exhibition for people to find out all about the discovery - which will be in place until the end of October. The event was attended by Cllr Blair-Pilling, Wiltshire Council Chief Executive Lucy Townsend and Deputy Lieutenant of Wiltshire, Air Vice-Marshal David Couzens among others.