A bone found on a British beach has sparked renewed interest in one of the country's most curious myths -- that a monkey washed ashore during the Napoleonic Wars was executed by suspicious locals for being a French spy.
According to popular legend, a monkey dressed in a French uniform was washed ashore at Hartlepool and tried by local magistrates on suspicion of being a French spy.
Because it did not answer questions they presumed the animal was guilty, and it was hanged from a lamppost.
– news story from June 2005
More info (and a SONG!) on the Hartlepool Monkey can be found here.