'Treasured' 99-year-old teddy bear to be auctioned

A teddy bear which was treasured by its owner for 99 years, is to go up for auction.

The toy, named Bear, was given to Ida Goring by her father in 1916 and she kept it until she died in 2015, shortly before her 102nd birthday.

Her daughter Jenny Pickett, from Staffordshire, said the bear now needed someone new to "care for him".

She said the money from his sale would go towards a headstone for her brother David Goring, who died aged 67 in 2016.

Ms Pickett said Mrs Goring's father, Joe Webb, had received Bear from a nurse at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London, after being "invalided out" of World War One with water on the brain.

The 62-year-old, from Burton-upon-Trent, said the toy had been "treasured" by her mother and had been a comfort to her after she lost her husband Wilf Goring in 1991 after 45 years of marriage.

"I have no emotional attachment to him and my three daughters and four granddaughters didn't want him so I thought it would be nice for him to go to a new owner who could cherish him as much as mum did," she said.

Bear is expected to fetch £70 to £100 at Hansons Auctioneers, in Derbyshire, on 19 September.

"My niece can't afford a headstone for David as they cost thousands of pounds," said Mrs Pickett.

"I want to give her some money to help and anything I raise from selling Bear will go towards it."

Auctioneer Charles Hanson said: "I'm sure [Ida] would have been proud of what her daughter is doing to help her brother's family and I'm happy Hansons can play its part."

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