The name’s Bond, James Albert Bond
Unmasked, 1960s British spy with giveaway name working at UK embassy in Poland... 11 years after first Ian Fleming book came out
AS disguises for secret service agents go, the name James Bond might not seem the wisest of choices.
Yet Britain sent a real-life namesake of 007 to gather intelligence on Communist Poland at the start of Bond mania, it has been revealed.
James Albert Bond was 36 when he was dispatched to Warsaw – under the cover that he was working as a secretary and archivist to the military attache at the British Embassy.
His posting came 11 years after the publication of Ian Fleming’s first Bond novel Casino Royale and two years after Sean Connery had starred in the debut film adaptation Dr No.
Details of the spy were uncovered by investigators at Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance, who established that he arrived in the Polish capital on February 18, 1964.
However, he appears to have been none too careful in his clandestine Cold War role, and soon came to the attention of the Polish intelligence services, whose files noted that the new arrival was ‘talkative, but very cautious’.
And just like his fictional alter ego, they also noted the debonair diplomat had a keen ‘interest in women’.
‘The arrival of such a famous agent did not go unnoticed by the officers of Department II (counter-intelligence) of the Ministry of the Interior,’ the institute’s files say. He was even dubbed ‘agent 007’, researchers found.
A later part of the files reads: ‘The observation of agent 007’s actions did not go unnoticed, he probably said that there was no chance of gaining valuable information.’
Some months after reaching Poland, Mr Bond was seen travelling with two supposed British diplomats on a trip to the north-eastern provinces of Bialystok and Olsztyn where the trio made attempts to ‘penetrate military facilities’, the records claim.
The archives show Mr Bond had little contact with Polish citizens and left on January 21, 1965 – less than a year after entering.
‘This case shows that after one year in Communist-era Poland, Bond was effectively discouraged from staying on,’ explained archivist Wlodzimierz Lechnio, who has read a number of files relating to the British spy.
Mr Bond was born in Bideford, north Devon, on January 28, 1928. His father is listed in a census as a ‘farm labourer and rabbit trapper’.
He married his wife Janette in Taunton, Somerset, in 1954 and they had one son, James Anthony Bond, the following year.
Mr Bond Sr died in January 2005, survived by his wife who is in her eighties and still lives in the town.
Mr Bond Jr, 65, and his wife Dawn also still live in Taunton and the family are said to be aware of the records released in Poland. The Bond films were starting to become famous around the world at the time Mr Bond Sr arrived in Poland – the third in the series, Goldfinger, would be released six months later – and it is likely a diplomat with the name would have aroused the suspicion of officers of Department II, the counter- intelligence section of the Polish ministry of the interior.
During Mr Bond’s stay the department ran an operation called ‘Samek’ and files suggest the authorities kept an eye on the spy even after he had left the country.
The Institute of National Remembrance said: ‘The case of “James Bond in Poland” is rather fascinating.
‘Since 1953 the James Bond character has been known to the readers all around the world. Surely the name James Bond was familiar to the communist Polish secret services. Was it some kind of joke just to fool and make fun of Polish secret services?’ Ian Fleming was a keen birdwatcher and always claimed his famous spy was named after a famous American ornithologist.
However, two years ago relatives of a James Charles Bond from Swansea claimed he had served under Fleming’s command during World War Two and may have been the inspiration.
Fleming completed 12 Bond novels and two short story collections, which led to 25 official film adaptations starring six different actors as Bond.
The latest, No Time To Die, was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic but has been rescheduled for release on November 12.