Honoured At Last,

though I have to admit I had to look at the date when I first read the story,

basically an American Flying Fortress on its way to Britain from the southern states of America crossed the Atlantic from South America and on their way they picked up a monkey as a mascot naming it Tojo, then the trouble began, they were lost and running short of fuel, landing in what they thought was German-occupied Norway the crew were armed themselves and prepared to take the cyanide tablets in their possession, but all was not lost, they had in fact on the 7 April 1943 landed at the County Cork seaside town of Clonakilty,

local businessman Thomas Tupper has grown up with the story of Tojo and how he came to be in Clonakilty, 'people were terrified it (the plane) might knock the spire off one of the churches, it headed out towards the sea and landed on a marsh', the crew were taken into custody which 'consisted of them being in a local hotel where a party ensued for three days',


during their stay, the US airmen were able to reciprocate the warm Irish welcome they had received by sharing their 36 bottles of rum with their hosts and Tojo, after several days, the crew were taken to Cork before they were driven from the neutral Irish Republic into Northern Ireland where they were handed over to the RAF, but one very important primate was missing when the the airmen left the west Cork town,


Tojo had taken too much of a liking to the rum and other beverages, 'the efforts of local doctors, chemists, and vets failed to save the monkey and Tojo died of pneumonia', said Mr Tupper, 'it was a great tragedy and people lined up and queued to see the dead monkey laid out on a sheet in a bed upstairs in the hotel',



but Tojo had made a lasting impression during his short stay and was given a funeral, with full military honours, on Sunday, a statue of the unusual visitor who became a local legend will be unveiled in Clonakilty and there was me thinking it was an April Fools Day Prank!