Ian Fleming

Ian Fleming was involved with multiple women. In 1939, he began an affair with Ann O'Neill who was married to the 3rd Baron O'Neill. At that time Ann was also having an affair with Esmond Harmsworth, the heir to Lord Rothermere.

Ann’s husband died during the war and she went on to marry the second Viscount Rothermere while still continuing her affair with Fleming. Rothermere divorced Ann due to her infidelity in 1951.

Ian Fleming finally married Ann in 1952 and had a son with her. But neither of them was faithful and both had numerous affairs during their marriage.

Ian Fleming was born on 28 May 1908 in London, England to Valentine Fleming and Evelyn St Croix Rose as one of their four sons. His family was a wealthy and affluent one.

His father was a Member of Parliament who served in the army during World War I. He was killed by German shelling on the Western Front on 20 May 1917.

After completing his high school, Ian Fleming enrolled at Eton College in 1921. He excelled at athletics and also edited a school magazine. His stay at the college was brief. He later studied at Sandhurst, the elite military academy. He also attended Munich University and the University of Geneva for short periods.

After a stint at journalism, he ventured into banking owing to pressure from his mother. He acquired a position at the financiers Cull & Co in 1933. After a couple of years, he became a stockbroker.

His career took an interesting turn in 1939 when he was recruited by Rear Admiral John Godfrey, Director of Naval Intelligence of the Royal Navy, to become his personal assistant. Fleming was commissioned into the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in July 1939 as part of his appointment.

During the World War II, he gained invaluable experience and gained knowledge about the Secret Intelligence Service, the Political Warfare Executive, the Special Operations Executive (SOE), and the Joint Intelligence Committee. He also travelled widely, often visiting the United States to coordinate intelligence operations.

Admiral Godfrey made Fleming in charge of Operation Goldeneye between 1941 and 1942. The operation was a plan to maintain an intelligence framework in Spain in the event of a German takeover of the territory. He also became a member of the committee that selected the targets for the T-Force unit and also attended an Anglo-American intelligence summit in Jamaica in 1942.

After the war, he became the Foreign Manager in the Kemsley newspaper group. His war time experiences had been very exciting and he was motivated to write a spy novel. He published a novel, ‘Casino Royale’ in 1953 which revolved around a British secret agent James Bond, also known by his code number, 007, who was a commander in the Royal Naval Reserve. The novel proved to be a success.

Author Ian Fleming is best remembered for creating the fictional character James Bond, a Royal Navy Commander and a Secret Service agent, in 1953. The larger-than-life character, with a penchant for expensive cars and beautiful women, is the protagonist of the James Bond series of novels, films, comics and video games.