Australian historian suggests newly discovered spy as Fleming inspiration

British born Denis Emerson-Elliott was an MI6 officer during and before the War. He served a time as personal assistant to the Australian director of naval intelligence. The director was also MI6 Head of Station in Australia. Plus, Fleming and Emerson-Elliott purportedly trained for their service at the same time in Scotland. Emerson-Elliott continued his work for the Secret Service in Malaya after '48, serving during the Malayan Emergency. He settled in Australia during 1955, moving first to Perth and then to Canberra, in 1964.

Lynette Silver, an Australian military historian, suggests that there is the possibility of a close connection between Fleming and Emerson-Elliott at the time of the war, and he even shared a code with Fleming's fictional spy. Emerson-Elliott's secret service number was: BB 007 where BB stood for British Bureau.

"Some of the people who are supposed to be the primary inspiration for Bond can be dismissed," Silver recently told the Sydney Morning Herald. "They either weren't involved in intelligence work before or after World War II, or had no close or personal connection to Fleming. Denis Emerson-Elliott, on the other hand, ticks all the boxes. Like Bond, he was an officer with the Royal Naval Reserve. Like Bond, he worked for MI6 - before, during and after the war. Like Bond, he spoke several languages fluently. Then there's his friendship with Fleming. Both men were recruited by MI6 around the same time and trained together in Scotland. They were colleagues before, during and after the war."

Silver is co-writing a book, "In the Mouth of the Tiger", about the life of Dinis Emerson-Elliott with his son, Derek. More information can be found at smh.com.au.

Thanks to `Scott` for the alert.

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