James Bond almost had different first name with link to Only Fools and Horses legend
Fan favourite James Bond almost had completely different first name after writer Ian Fleming wanted a name for the 007 spy when his brother Peter made a suggestion
Ian Fleming’s brother Peter – a lieutenant colonel in charge of `military deception’ in south-east Asia during WW2 – suggested the name Bond as the hero for the author’s first book Casino Royale. It was the surname of a real life hero in the Secret Intelligence Service – now MI6 – called Rodney Clarence Mortimer Bond.
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 masterspy. Perhaps luckily he did not suggest the fictional hero’s first name – just his surname.