Ian Fleming in Naval Uniform from the album of Maud Russell, circa 1940. Courtesy of Ian Fleming Images/Maud Russell Estate Collection. The war changed the course of his life in ways that he probably never could have imagined. (His love of Switzerland can be seen in several of the James Bond novels that have scenes set there, and Fleming gave Bond a Swiss mother from the Canton of Vaud.) In early 1939, his career was mainly as a stringer journalist. He had a gift for languages and studied in Switzerland where he learned French and German. He attended Eton and then Sandhurst with the intention of joining the British Army but his time at Eton and Sandhurst were not promising.

Ian’s life prior to 1939 was not as stellar. During World War II Peter was a Grenadier Guards officer who joined SOE, trained Chinese guerrilla troops, and participated in commando raids in Norway, for which he was given an OBE in 1945. Peter was a star student at Eton and Oxford, who became an explorer and writer. His elder brother Peter was the nightmare of middle children like Ian Fleming. His father was a successful barrister and MP who served with Winston Churchill and was killed in the First World War. His early years ranged from being a journalist to being what several of his friends described as one of the worst stockbrokers in the world. Born on May 28, 1908, Ian Fleming lived a colorful life.

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