[imagesource:greekreporter]

Bond, Rodney Bond.

Doesn’t quite have the same feel to it, does it? According to Ian Flemming’s brother Peter, the author of the world’s most-loved spy stories nearly named 007 after a real spy that he met during WW2 – Rodney Clarence Mortimer Bond.

Peter Felmming – a lieutenant colonel in charge of `military deception’ in Southeast Asia during WW2 – suggested the name Bond as the hero for the author’s first book Casino Royale. Peter had come across Rodney Bond when he was rescued from a Nazi bombing attack in northern Greece in 1941.

Lieutenant Colonel Bond was then working for MI6 in Athens. Nicholas Shakespeare – whose book Ian Fleming: The Complete Man is out in October – revealed how close super spy James came to becoming a Rodney. He was given unprecedented access to the Fleming family papers to compile his history of the spy writer.

They revealed how Ian’s sibling had suggested the name Bond to him for his swashbuckling py. Perhaps luckily he did not suggest the fictional hero’s first name – just his surname.

“Peter was having breakfast in Oxfordshire while reading the newspapers when Ian came in and said, Peter, I’ve written a bloody good thriller, but I can’t get a name for my hero. Without lowering his newspaper Peter replied: Try Bond’.”

Rodney Bond was born in 1897 and won a Military Cross during WW1 World where he fought in France. He then joined the Intelligence Corps, was given the codename ‘Hatzis’ and was posted to Turkey during WW2.

The real Bond, who married ‘Mary’ in 1956, helped save the future Greek Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou from a Nazi attack in 1944. He died at the age of 65 in 1962.

We have to wonder if the 007 franchise would have been so big if the protagonist had been named Rodney. Somehow James just seems more dangerous and sexy.

The franchise might also be responsible for an increase in recruitment for MI6 (UK’s Secret Service), similar to the increase of applicants to the US Navy following the original Top Gun movie. The UK government has now even begun offering ‘internships’ to students looking to become spies after school, with perks such as a ‘good wage’ and a flat to live in – along with using high-tech equipment.

Maybe amongst the lot of wanna-be spies, there is a Rodney.

[source:dailystar]