Southend on Sea

Alamotex

Ian fleming is said to have visited Southend on sea during his time with Naval Intelligence to observe what was believed to be a nightime landing of German agents from the Thames estuary. Is there a reference to this event in any articles written about Ian Fleming ? I heard that Fleming found a vantage point on the roof of the Palace Hotel for the all night vigil. Can this be confirmed ?

The Domino Effect

That's correct. In Andrew Lycett's excellent biography "Ian Fleming: The Man Behind James Bond", he explains that in April 1940 there was a report that Germany was going to attack Southend on Whit Sunday. Fleming and his brother Peter Fleming suggested to their respective chiefs that if such an attack took place it would be exploited by Hitler's propaganda machine. "In order to be sure that a different point of view appeared on the BBC, they suggested that they should be present on the Essex coast to act as official observors...At dusk they joined a naval observation post on the roof of a large hotel. But as the night wore on, and they received no reports of unusual enemy aircraft movements, they found it increasingly difficult to take the idea of an impending attack seriously. At around one o'clock they roused their driver, who was drunk, and asked to be taken back to London."

Unfortunately, the hotel is not identified by name and I don't believe the incident is mentioned at all in the biographies by Pearson or MacInityre.

Alamotex

Thanks,Domino Effect.......for supplying the source for this incident. I am pretty sure that, even though the name of the Southend hotel is not mentioned in Andrew Lycett's biography of Ian Fleming, it was the Palace Hotel which has a commanding view of the Thames Estuary from the base of the Pier. That same hotel has recently undergone major renovations and only recently reopened as the Park Inn Palace. I suspect that this incident in the life of Ian Fleming is not generally known in Southend

The Domino Effect

My pleasure, Alamotex. It's a great story. Who knows, if ever the much-touted bio-pic of Fleming is made, perhaps this incident will appear!

DangerMouse

Alamotex wrote:

Thanks,Domino Effect.......for supplying the source for this incident. I am pretty sure that, even though the name of the Southend hotel is not mentioned in Andrew Lycett's biography of Ian Fleming, it was the Palace Hotel which has a commanding view of the Thames Estuary from the base of the Pier. That same hotel has recently undergone major renovations and only recently reopened as the Park Inn Palace. I suspect that this incident in the life of Ian Fleming is not generally known in Southend

Seeing as I live near there, I'll make sure of it. I'll never look at that hotel the same way again.

matt brown 005

I do not live far from Southend i live in Chelmsford which is only about 20 miles away.