Patrick Dalzel-Job
Patrick Dalzel-Job | |
---|---|
Born | 1 June 1913 Lieutenant Commander |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Patrick Dalzel-Job (1 June 1913 – 14 October 2003) was a
Dalzel-Job is widely thought to be the model for James Bond,[1] Ian Fleming's fictional spy, 007.
Early life
Born in London, Dalzel-Job was the only son of Captain Ernest Dalzel-Job, who was killed in the Battle of the Somme in 1916. After his father's death Dalzel-Job and his mother lived in various locations, including Switzerland, and he learnt to ski and sail. They returned to the UK in 1931 where he built his own schooner, the Mary Fortune, which he and his mother spent the next two years sailing around the British coast.[2][3]
In 1937, they sailed to Norway and spent the next two years exploring the coast. During this time Dalzel-Job became fluent in Norwegian. He and his mother took on as crew a Norwegian schoolgirl named Bjørg Bangsund from the city of Tromsø.
WWII
On 8 December 1939, Dalzel-Job was commissioned into the
In June 1942, Dalzel-Job was assigned to collate information about the west coast of Norway. A few months later,
From mid-1943 until early-1944, he served with the 12 (Special Service) Submarine Flotilla, being trained on
Postwar
Immediately following the war, Dalzel-Job returned to England on 24 May 1945 and petitioned the Admiralty to be sent to Norway.[4] His intent was to find Bjørg Bangsund, who had sailed with him six years earlier. In 1945 she was 19, he was 32. They wed in Oslo three weeks after he found her at Vestbane train station in Oslo. After their marriage on 26 June 1945 they returned to Edinburgh.[4]
For a time the newly married couple lived at Onich, near
Their son, Iain Dalzel-Job, was to serve as a major in the 2nd Battalion, The Scots Guards and commanded G Company (7, 8, and 9 Platoons) in the assault on Mount Tumbledown during the Falklands War.
Dalzel-Job later acknowledged that Fleming had told him he was the basis for Bond, but added, "I have never read a Bond book or seen a Bond movie. They are not my style.... And I only ever loved one woman [Bjørg], and I'm not a drinking man."[5][6] "I prefer the quiet life now," Dalzel-Job went on. "When you have led such an exciting life you don't need to see a fictional account of it."[7]
He released his memoirs, titled From Arctic Snow to Dust of Normandy (
Works
- Dalzel-Job, Patrick (1957). The Settlers. Constable.
- Dalzel-Job, Patrick (2003). Arctic Snow to Dust of Normandy: The Extraordinary Wartime Exploits of a Naval Special Agent (Reprint ed.). Pen and Sword. ISBN 0850529018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
See also
References
- ^ Smith, David (20 April 2008). "The name's Job, Patrick Dalzel-Job". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f "Patrick Dalzel-Job" (Obituary). The Telegraph. 16 October 2003. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
- ^ The Times obituary[not specific enough to verify]
- ^ a b "Commander Patrick Dalzel-Job". The Second World War Experience Centre. Archived from the original on 12 November 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
- ^ "Patrick Dalzel-Job, 90; War Hero Inspired Fleming's Bond" (Obituary). Los Angeles Times. 18 October 2003. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
- ^ "My father was inspiration for James Bond". The Scotman. 28 May 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
- ^ Ezard, John (15 October 2003). "War hero who inspired Fleming's Bond dies at 90" (Obituary). The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2018.