Skip to main content
BECOME A FLEMING INSIDER > JOIN HERE
Discover the life and times of James Bond, from the very beginning.
1920/24
Bond is born to a Scottish father, Andrew Bond of Glencoe and Swiss mother, Monique Delacroix from the Canton de Vaud. The exact date of his birth has been disputed over the years. His father is a foreign representative of the Vickers armaments firm, and his early years are spent entirely abroad, where he becomes fluent in French and German.
1935
Bond’s parents die in a climbing accident in the Aiguilles Rouge above Chamonix when he is 11. He is sent to live with his Aunt, Charmian Bond, in the hamlet of Pett Bottom, near Canterbury, Kent. Here, in a small cottage near the Duck Inn, his aunt completes his preparation for entry to public school.
1936
‘At the age of twelve or thereabouts’ Bond starts at Eton College, the prestigious British boarding school. Unfortunately, he only lasts two ‘halves’ due to some ‘alleged trouble with one of the boy’s maids’, and moves to Fettes, his father’s old school within a year.
1938
At the age of seventeen, an old friend of his father’s sends a letter of introduction for Bond to the Admiralty. He begins work shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and becomes Commander James Bond, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserved.
The War Years…
During the War, Bond enrolls in the British Secret Service and begins his career with MI6, undertaking missions abroad, including spending time in Jamaica.
1949
After being reassigned to London in 1949, James Bond continues missions including the assassinations of a Japanese cipher expert and a Norwegian double agent – earning him his 00 number and a licence to kill. From that moment is codename Agent 007.
1951
Sent to Royales-les-Eaux, Bond comes face to face with two formidable antagonists – Le Chiffre and Vesper Lynd.
1952
Bond meets Quarrel and Strangways, two allies living in Jamaica. They work together with CIA agent Felix Leiter to track down SMERSH operative Mr Big.
1953
Bond is assigned as a special agent to protect Sir Hugo Drax’s rocket, the Moonraker. Aided by Gala Brand, he also investigates Drax’s true intentions for the rocket.
Later that year…
Bond infiltrates a diamond-smuggling ring to find and ‘retire’ its leaders. He meets Tiffany Case, who moves in with Bond for a few months after the conclusion of his mission.
1954
SMERSH devises a plot to assassinate Bond and discredit the Secret Services, forcing Bond to travel to Istanbul, where he is hospitalised by Rosa Klebb’s poisoning attempt.
March 1956
With a newly issued Walther PPK, Bond is sent to Jamaica to investigate Strangway’s disappearance, with the help of Quarrel. He is captured with Honeychile Rider by Dr. No on Crab Key Island.
May 1956
Bond investigates suspicious millionaire Auric Goldfinger, and uncovers a plot that could upend the world order as he knows it.
Winter 1956-1958
Bond is pulled into numerous missions that lead him from Italy to the Seychelles in an attempt to stop funds and arms being sent to Cuba.
May 1959
After spending time at Shrublands Clinic, where he learns about ‘proper diet’, Bond travels to the Bahamas to investigate the SPECTRE hijacking of two atomic bombs, which are now hidden on the luxury yacht ‘Disco Volante’.
Later that year…
Bond travels to Jamaica to inform Major Dexter Smythe (owner of a pet octopus) that he is being charged with the murder of his skiing instructor and surrogate father-figure.
1960
Bond is sent to Berlin to assassinate a sniper in order to save a British agent escaping East Germany, but will a beautiful female cellist distract him from his task?
1961
Bond meets Vivienne Michelle in a motel in New York State, where he protects her from two armed mobsters.
Later that year…
Bond meets Contessa Teresa ‘Tracy’ di Vicenzo in Royale-les-Euax, ten years after his first trip to Casino Royale. Her crime-boss father is willing to lead Bond to Blofeld – on one condition.
January 1962
Bond marries Tracy and she is killed in the same day. Bond sinks into a depression.
Later that year…
After a lack of success in recent missions, Bond is sent to negotiate an agreement with the Japanese Secret Service. In order to secure the deal, the Japanese request the assassination of Dr. Guntram Shatterhand, a Swiss botanist living in an impregnable fortress known to locals as the Castle of Death. He soon realises this is his only chance to revenge the death of his bride.
November 1962
Bond is declared missing and presumed dead. His obituary appears in the London Times.
1963
After leaving Japan behind, Bond is captured in Vladivostok, where he spends 6 months being brainwashed by Soviet agents. When he returns to London with orders to kill M, Bond is deprogrammed and assigned the task of killing Scaramanga in the Caribbean.
