The 'Almost Human' Gorilla Who Drank Tea And Went To School

John Daniel was no ordinary gorilla. For starters, he was called John Daniel. And he had his own bedroom, drank tea and cider, and could purportedly do his own washing up. Villagers in Uley adopted the lowland gorilla after he was captured in Gabon by French.

In 1917, he was spotted for sale in a London department store by Uley resident Maj Rupert Penny. Penny's sister, Alyce Cunningham, raised John as a human boy in the village and used to send John on regular walks with the children of Uley junior school, according to Groom.