One Belfast zookeeper hid a baby elephant in her home during World War II, according to a children’s novelist and illustrator.
Ellan Rankin is the Belfast-based author of The Secret Elephant, an illustrated children’s book telling the true story of zookeeper Denise Weston - who hid an elephant in her home.
Ms Rankin told Moncrieff Denise Weston Austin rescued the calf from Belfast Zoo and kept it at her home when the city was being bombed by the Luftwaffe in the 1941 blitz.
“She'd walk [the elephant] home down the road, stop for stale bread on the way home and she’d keep it there overnight because it was scared during the air raids,” she said.
The elephant, known as Sheila, managed to stay hidden due to the large walls which surrounded the house, and then every morning she was returned to the zoo.
Ms Rankin said Ms Weston Austin and the baby elephant didn’t have to sneak around some people, as many neighbours saw Ms Weston Austin walk the elephant home.
The elephant was discovered after she broke a neighbour’s wall while chasing a dog. Ms Rankin explained that the neighbour sought compensation from the head zookeeper, who stopped Ms Weston Austin from taking the elephant home again.
Book
Ms Rankin, who has a master's degree in illustration, said she was inspired to write the story after photos of Ms Weston Austin and the elephant were found in 2009.
She said she thinks the book has enough colour for young children, enough war stories for older children – and is entertaining enough for adults.
“I'm very aware of the adults that are reading it or picking the book,” she said. “I want to have something that maybe they would find funny in the background, something that’s engaging.”
Ms Rankin said she made some slight changes from the true Belfast story – including making the elephant smaller and the wartime stories less scary.
She also included a scene where Ms Weston Austin and the elephant reunite in their old age – despite the fact the elephant died rough 20 to 30 years before the zookeeper.
“It would have been a lovely reunion, in my head anyway,” Ms Rankin said.
You can buy The Secret Elephant by Ellan Rankin here.
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