I don't know how this tale has escaped my notice for so long!
The story goes that during the Napoleonic Wars a ship came into difficulty near the coast at Hartlepool. The ship turned out to be French and had a mascot on board: A monkey.
Local men found the monkey, dressed in French military uniform, washed up on the beach and apparently took the monkey to trial for being a French spy! The monkey was then hung to death from the mast of a nearby fishing boat.
Supporters of the legend claimed that a bone washed up in 2005 once belonged to The Monkey. A closer look identified it as a bone of a red deer.
And it gets more bizarre... In 2002, the Hartlepool United Football Club mascot (yes, it was a monkey) was elected mayor of Hartlepool. His election campaign slogan was 'Free bananas for schoolchildren'.
Words, Wildlife, Rock & Roll
Borneo, Wales, Infinity and Beyond...
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