WHEN Wally the whale inadvertently swam up the River Thames it became the centre of an international media storm and hundreds of people turned up for a glimpse.
But more than 50 years ago Merseyside had two stranded whales that people took to their hearts.
Now, it seems, one of them may have been the inspiration for the Beatles' hit the Yellow Submarine and film.
A rare drawing has been discovered by a close childhood friend of John Lennon and he is certain it sparked the idea for the pop ditty.
David Ashton remembers clearly the day the pair sneaked off to look at the whale, which was stranded in the River Mersey near Hale lighthouse.
The agricultural journalist, who grew up in Woolton but moved to Denmark in the 1960s, vividly remembers the day.
He said: "I was always aware there was some connection between the whale and Yellow Submarine but when I found the picture it really confirmed it. You only have to look at it to see.
"John and I used to go to Hale Lighthouse and when the whale was stranded we went down to see it.
"It was going rotten and was yellow. There were crows and seagulls eating it.
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