The origins of the London bollard is a good example of the "one-upmanship" nature of the relationship between the English and the French.After winning the battle of Trafalgar the English stripped the canons from the captured French war ships, only to discover that as they were bigger than the English model, the English navy couldn't use them.
Determined to find a way to flaunt their victory, the enterprising English used them for street bollards in the east end. Even now the bollards you see around London streets are modelled on the French canons.