Fictional Biography

Ian Fleming’s James Bond was born in the early 1920s to Andrew Bond of Glencoe and Monique Delacroix, from the Canton de Vaud in Switzerland. When he was six days old, James’ name was put on Eton’s general admissions list by his father. Bond received a conditional place at Eton in the early 1930s, just before his parents died in a climbing accident in France.

After the death of his parents, Bond was placed under the guardianship of his aunt Charmain and lived with her in Kent. James later passed the Common Entrance Exam for Eton College and entered the school. In his first holidays from Eton, Bond visited Austria and Switzerland, where he learnt how to ski.

After two halves at the school, James Bond was removed from Eton due to an alleged incident with one of the Boys’ Maids, and his aunt Charmain transferred James to Fettes College, his father’s old school.

To learn more about James’ time at Eton college, read Charlie Higson’s bestselling and critically acclaimed Young Bond series.

At age 15, Bond became an avid golfer, a hobby he shares with his creator, Ian Fleming. From this point on, Bond was often to be found playing golf at the Royal St Marks Golf Course, as well as spending more time in Austria and Switzerland. When Bond was 17, an old friend of his father’s sent a letter of introduction for James to the Admiralty, where Bond began work shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War. It was during this time that James learned his card-sharping skills and began his work with foreign agencies.

Soon after the start of WWII Bond began his career in the secret service, enrolling in the newly created Special Operations Executive, which was later to become Special Operations (SO). Bond worked abroad for several years before being reassigned to London in 1949. Shortly after this reassignment Bond became a “Double-0” agent, holding the agent number 007, and was soon sent on the first mission Ian Fleming shares with us; the thrilling game of skill and subterfuge at the Casino Royale.

Click here to read about all of agent 007’s deadly missions in print.