From Sneem with love
He may be an international super-spy but it appears that James Bond takes his orders from a Kerry man. The author behind a book into the real-life inspiration for the James Bond series has revealed that 007's boss, "M" originally came from Sneem.
According to historian Andrew Cook, Ian Flemming took his inspiration for James Bond from a London based chemist known as Sigmund Rosenblum who spied for British Intelligence in Russia in the early 20th century. However, Cook reveals that Rosenblum was recruited for the job by William Melville, an Irish emigrant who was born in Sneem in 1850.
While still a young man, Melville moved to London and joined the Metropolitan Police where he rose quickly through the ranks before becoming the head of Scotland Yard's Special Branch. Amazingly though, Melville disappeared while at the height of his police career in 1903.
It was not until 1997 that files released to the Public Record Office revealed that Melville had in fact been recruited to Military Intelligence and played an important part in the organization that ultimately became known as MI5. Operating under the codename "M", Melville hired Rosenblum for the job, changing his name to Sidney Reilly. Now, Andrew Cook is looking for any descendants of William Melville to contact him with information about the former spy boss from Sneem.