Ian Fleming Patterned James Bond After World War II Agent

"Yeo-Thomas used a range of techniques to escape or evade his enemies, including jumping from a train, strangling a guard, wearing disguises and riding in a hearse.  These methods echo tactics later used by Bond.  And like Bond, Yeo-Thomas always carried a weapon.  In Paris, he once shot an enemy agent and threw him into a river." (www.dailymail.co.uk)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2207357/Revealed-The-Second-World-War-spy-inspired-007-author-Ian-Fleming-create-James-Bond.html

James Bond author Ian Fleming worked in intelligence during the Second World War.  In the closing days of the conflict, he sent a memo to his colleagues about the escape of Forest Yeo-Thomas, a special agent who had been parachuted into occupied France three times during the war.  Yeo-Thomas, who seemingly had nine lives, would serve as the inspiration for 007.

Forest Yeo-Thomas, born in London, England, moved to Dieppe, France at an early age, where he became fluent in French.  Forest Yeo-Thomas, nicknamed Tommy, served as a wing commander in the Polish Soviet war of 1919-1920, where he earned the Cross of Merit.  

After the Evacuation at Dunkirk early in the Second World War, Yeo-Thomas escaped back to England.  He was hired as an interpreter for DeGualle's Free French Forces.  However, the British Special Operations Executive soon lured him away to work in intelligence.  Yeo-Thomas became a liaison officer with the Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action.  

Yeo-Thomas parachuted into occupied France for the first time in February of 1943, armed with the assignment to obstruct the German occupation.  Donning a disguise, he dined with Klaus Barbie, the Butcher of Lyon, aboard a train.  

Yeo-Thomas returned to England where he begged five minutes with Prime Minister Winston Churchill.  Granted an audience, the special agent begged for more resources for the French Resistance.  

The fearless liaison officer parachuted again into occupied France in February of 1944 where he was captured at a Paris Metro station.  Recognized as "The White Rabbit", as the Gestapo nicknamed him, he was tortured with physical beatings, electric shock and submersion in ice-cold water for four days.  The latter caused him to pass out and be resuscitated by the guards.

The Gestapo sent Yeo-Thomas to Buchenwald Concentration Camp.  But they couldn't keep a good man down.  He escaped, was recaptured, posed as a French National and was sent to Stalag XX-B.  It was there that Yeo-Thomas donned a disguise, shot an enemy agent, escaped and reached Allied lines in April of 1945.  Commander Ian Fleming, also in British intelligence, learned about the escape and sent out a memo informing his colleagues of Yeo-Thomas' safe return.

Inspired by the daring exploits of the Special Agent, Fleming penned his first James Bond story Casino Royale in 1952.  "Yeo-Thomas used a range of tactics to escape or evade his enemies, including jumping from a train, strangling a guard, wearing disguises and riding in a hearse.  These methods echo tactics later used by Bond."

Yeo-Thomas' exploits did not go unrecognized.  He was honoured with about a dozen awards including:  the George Cross, Legion of Honour and Croix de Guerre.  However, his dangerous career did take its toll:  Yeo-Thomas suffered from recurring nightmares and illness.  He passed away in 1962, three years before Churchill, the leader who led his country through the infamous conflict.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2207357/Revealed-The-Second-World-War-spy-inspired-007-author-Ian-Fleming-create-James-Bond.html

For more information about Forest Yeo-Thomas:

1.  Watch Carve Her Name with Pride (movie starring Michael Caine).
2.  Watch The White Rabbit (BBC television mini-series).
3.  Read Churchill's White Rabbit:  The True Story of a Real Life James Bond (Sophie Jackson).

Koenigsberg Burning

On the nights of August 26 and 27 and August 29 and 30, 1944, Elfriede Neumann sat in her Taplacken farmhouse and listened to the drone of the planes as the British dropped 480 tons of bombs on the nearby city of Koenigsberg, the beautiful capital of East Prussia, Germany.  Churchill had called Koenigsberg a "modernized heavily defended fortress" and targeted it for attack.  The initial raid resulted in minimal damage; however, the second raid inflicted sheer terror in the hearts of the Koenigsberg residents.  Only nine months had elapsed since the Neumann family had sat for their family portrait at a studio in the city, the last time that Elfriede saw her husband alive; now he was missing in action on the Eastern front and his home province was under siege.

The bombing destroyed all seven bridges in the city.  The university was obliterated.  Many churches were targetted inlcuding the centuries-old Koenigsberg Cathedral, on an island in the Pregel River, which took a direct hit.  One hundred Koenigsbergers, including many children, were hiding beneath the church's large spire and were killed instantly.  This was not just a regular bombing, but a fire bombing.  Thousands of civilians drowned themselves in the Pregel River, their clothes burning as they ran into its waters.  Even the magnificent King's Castle was bombed (see my post "The Amber Room") and damaged, although its frame remained intact.  Statues were smashed and landmarks demolished.  Ninety percent of the 700-year-old city was destroyed.  Koenigsberg burned for an entire week and smouldered for several more weeks.  People were forbidden to enter the city.    The British had sent 800 bombers to fly over the city and drop incendiary bombs, tracking a path from the North train station to the Main train station.  Almost all of the cultural buildings, like the university, cathedral, and castle, were hit by the raids.  One hundred and fifty thousand citizens were made homeless as a result of the bombings.

Elfriede's sister, Doris, saw it all happen from her parents' farm in Nautzwinkel, a village only a few kilometres from the East Prussian capital.  She was called in by the Red Cross to help the victims of the bombings.   The fire departments and air defence were rendered helpless.  A makeshift hospital set up at the outskirts of the city was where Doris and other volunteers tended the wounded.  In the centre of the city, even those who took cover in basements were incinerated due to the intense heat of the incendiary bombs, including napalm.  The bombing of Koenigsberg was like a prelude to the attack on Dresden six months later.  When the smoke cleared, all that was left was a charred ruins.  Incandescent traces of red and orange lingered above the city for days.  Koenigsberg, the bustling metropolis where Elfriede had once shopped with her family, now resembled a ghost town.

Dedicated to my husband Rob's Oma, Elfriede Neumann (1911-2007).



Portrait of Koenigsberg Castle courtesy http://en.wikipedia.org

Photo of Koenigsberg Castle ruins courtesy www.amberroom.org