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From https://www.nytimes.com/1964/08/13/archives/ian-fleming-dead-created-james-bond.html https://www.nytimes.com/1964/08/13/archives/ian-fleming-dead... (1964)

From https://www.nytimes.com/1964/08/13/archives/ian-fleming-dead-created-james-bond.html https://www.nytimes.com/1964/08/13/archives/ian-fleming-dead... (1964) His father, Major Valentine Fleming, at one time a Conservative member of Parliament, was killed while fighting on the Somme in 1916.

CaptArmchair 5y ago
According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Valentine Fleming died on 20 May 1917. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/337500/ https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-det... He's buried at Templeux-Le-Guerard British Cemetary, France, plot 2, row E, grave 40. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/337500/#&gid=3&pid=1 https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-det... The epitaph on the stone reads "The heights hold peace". https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/337500/#&gid=3&pid=2 https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-det... In 2021, that's just a few clicks away. In 1964, the reporter of the New York Times would have been hard pressed to find and access that information and likely relied on an incorrect second hand source.
- glaucon 5y ago
  > In 1964, the reporter of the New York Times would have been hard pressed to find Yes totally agree. I might have suggested otherwise but I didn't mean to. Ludicrous how easy finding out stuff ... or a certain type of stuff at least ... is by comparison today.
glaucon 5y ago
Normally I would be happy to defer to the New York Times but there's some easily seen evidence that their date is wrong. Here's a British Government website listing wills which includes a reference to Valentine Fleming and gives his date of death as 20 May 1917 - https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Calendar?surname=Fleming&yearOfDeath=1917&page=2#calendar https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Calendar?surname=Flemin... . And here's an obituary published on May 25 1917, of course it's possible the obituary was being published long after his death but unlikely I think https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/valentine-fleming-an-appreciation-z975zns3p https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/valentine-fleming-an-appr... . His being awarded his DSO immediately after his death, as recorded here https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30111/supplement/5470 https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30111/supplement/5..., is also much more likely than months afterwards. BTW in case there was confusion being "killed while fighting on the somme" is not the same as fighting in the Battle of the Somme. The battle was a distinct period of some months, while fighting on the Somme occupied a period of years for the greater part of WW 1. EDIT: In order to fix a typo I removed the text "to have occurred soon after his death" from the last sentence of the first paragraph
- uniqueid 5y ago
  Great comment. Thanks for the correction.

CaptArmchair 5y ago

According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Valentine Fleming died on 20 May 1917. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/337500/ https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-det... He's buried at Templeux-Le-Guerard British Cemetary, France, plot 2, row E, grave 40. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/337500/#&gid=3&pid=1 https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-det... The epitaph on the stone reads "The heights hold peace". https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/337500/#&gid=3&pid=2 https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-det... In 2021, that's just a few clicks away. In 1964, the reporter of the New York Times would have been hard pressed to find and access that information and likely relied on an incorrect second hand source.

glaucon 5y ago
> In 1964, the reporter of the New York Times would have been hard pressed to find Yes totally agree. I might have suggested otherwise but I didn't mean to. Ludicrous how easy finding out stuff ... or a certain type of stuff at least ... is by comparison today.

glaucon 5y ago

Normally I would be happy to defer to the New York Times but there's some easily seen evidence that their date is wrong. Here's a British Government website listing wills which includes a reference to Valentine Fleming and gives his date of death as 20 May 1917 - https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Calendar?surname=Fleming&yearOfDeath=1917&page=2#calendar https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Calendar?surname=Flemin... . And here's an obituary published on May 25 1917, of course it's possible the obituary was being published long after his death but unlikely I think https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/valentine-fleming-an-appreciation-z975zns3p https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/valentine-fleming-an-appr... . His being awarded his DSO immediately after his death, as recorded here https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30111/supplement/5470 https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30111/supplement/5..., is also much more likely than months afterwards. BTW in case there was confusion being "killed while fighting on the somme" is not the same as fighting in the Battle of the Somme. The battle was a distinct period of some months, while fighting on the Somme occupied a period of years for the greater part of WW 1. EDIT: In order to fix a typo I removed the text "to have occurred soon after his death" from the last sentence of the first paragraph

uniqueid 5y ago
Great comment. Thanks for the correction.