Real life James Bond Who Parachuted Into Lake Como Wearing His Clothes Under His Wetsuit During World War II And Twice Escaped The Firing Squad To Be Honored By The Italians

From Ian Fleming's older brother Peter to a good number of World War II secret agents and commandos, identifying the true-life person that Fleming based his iconic fictional character James Bond on has become a cottage industry in journalism and publishing.

Fleming said time and again that he didn't based the Bond character on a single person, but rather Bond was based on a general type of World War II secret agent and commando, many of whom Fleming met while serving as a naval intelligence officer during the war. And Fleming also noted that he gave Bond many of his own personal likes, dislikes and character traits.

But again we have a Daily Mail piece that speculates that Dick Mallaby (seen in the above photo), a WWII SOE commando, was the inspiration for James Bond.

Perhaps his actions and the fact that he wore his clothes under a scuba suit - like Bond in the Goldfinger film - conjures up the Bond image.

While I don't think Dick Mallaby was the sole inspiration for Bond, nor were the others mentioned over the years since Fleming's death in 1964, Mallaby's patriotism, bravery and resourcefulness were indeed the personal attributes that Ian Fleming infused into his James Bond character.  

You can read about Dick Mallaby via the below link:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3803649/Real-life-James-Bond-parachuted-enemy-lines-armed-secret-codes-toothpaste-crystals-radios-honoured-Italy.html

Agent Blanche: Tale Of Last Surviving Female British Spy Who Infiltrated Nazis In Northern France

Paul Donnelley at the British newspaper the Daily Mail offers a piece on a daring British teenage spy during WWII.

The little-known story of a daring British teenager who risked her life to be a spy in Nazi-occupied France during the Second World war has come to light. 

Plucky Sonya Butt - known as Agent Blanche - was just 19 when she was parachuted into northern France to act as a go-between for Allied troops and the French Resistance ahead of D-Day. 

During her time with the Special Operations Executive (SOE) she met and married Guy D'Artois, a fellow spy, and the pair went on to wreak havoc on the Germans.

Sonya used her beauty to woo German soldiers for information while secretly recruiting new Resistance cells and training them in guerilla warfare.

Despite her youth, Sonya was a specialist in explosives and her expertise was much in demand in rural towns and villages in the beaten country.

The intrepid youngster earned a reputation for fearlessness often sabotaging bridges and ambushing German convoys.

You can read the rest of the piece and see some interesting photos via the below link:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2585241/Revealed-time-Story-surviving-female-British-spy-infiltrated-Nazis-WWII-parachuting-northern-France.html