Michael Bond, creator of the beloved children’s literary character Paddington Bear, passed on June 27, 2017 following a short illness. He was 91 years old.

Thomas Michael Bond was born on January 13, 1926 and raised in Reading, Berkshire. Bond attended Presentation College, before passing on university to work in a solicitor’s office and then as an engineer’s assistant for the BBC. At 17, following an air raid in 1943, Bond volunteered for aircrew service in the Royal Air Force. Bond later served in the Middlesex Regiment of the British Army until 1947. While stationed with the army, Bond began writing stories and sold his first story to the London Opinion in 1945.

In 1958, after producing a number of plays and short stories, his first book, A Bear Called Paddington, was published. The character was named after the London railway station where he was found, having arrived from “deepest, darkest Peru” according to Bond’s famous description. This was the start of Bond’s series of books recounting the tales of the marmalade-loving bear, whose Aunt Lucy sends him to the United Kingdom. Paddington was discovered and adopted by the Brown family, who noticed the tag on his neck that read “please look after this bear.”

Paddington has been enjoyed by generations of children. Since 1958, more than 150 different Paddington titles have been published, with more than 35 million copies sold worldwide in more than 40 languages. The character also inspired an animated TV series and the successful 2014 film, Paddington. A sequel to the Paddington film is scheduled for release later this year. In addition to Paddington, Bond also created the characters Olga da Polga, A Mouse Called Thursday and a French detective named Monsieur Pamplemousse.

In 1997, for services to children's literature, Bond was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. More recently, during the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Bond was made a Commander of the British Empire. Hugh Bonneville, star of the Paddington movies, wrote on Instagram that “Michael will be greatly missed by his legions of fans and especially by his wife Sue, his family and of course by his beloved guinea pigs. He leaves a special legacy: long live the bear from darkest Peru.”

“He was a true gentleman, a bon viveur, the most entertaining company and the most enchanting of writers. He will be forever remembered for his creation of the iconic Paddington, with his duffle coat and wellington boots, which touched my own heart as a child and will live on in the hearts of future generations,” Ann-Janine Murtagh, Executive Publisher of HarperCollins Children's Books, shared in a statement.

Bond is survived by his wife, Sue, his children, Karen and Anthony, and four grandchildren.