M

Chief of Secret Intelligence Service (MI6)

Vice Admiral Sir Miles Messervy KCMG, Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, has been heading up the Double O section for years. Although often irritated by Bond’s attitude, M, with the help of his secretary Moneypenny, provides the home-base for 007 during his missions. A man living on a modest salary, Bond often remarks that M’s Regency manor and membership to Blades must require an element of ‘grace and favour’.

His story starts when he turns down the role of Fourth Sea Lord to become the Head of MI6. As one of the original proponents for the Double O programme, M stands firm when the section experiences backlash due to its licence to kill policy. His three Double O operatives are so successful that by 1950, he considers expanding the section to include more agents.

After Bond’s mission to kill Scaramanga, M is kidnapped from Quarterdeck, his home in Windsor. A second kidnapping and rescue many years later prompts his retirement, as detailed in COLD.

DID YOU KNOW?

Barbara Mawdsley becomes M, Head of MI6, in Raymond Benson’s Bond adventures. Mawdsley brings a new tone to the role of M, as a career intelligence officer with a strong analytical background. However, she retains the position’s characteristic disapproval of the reckless and often unprofessional approach Bond brings to his role.