Peter Fleming


During World War II, he served with the Grenadier Guards; later Peter and his brother Ian were commissioned by Colin Gubbins to help establish the Auxiliary Units. This was to be the "secret army" of civilian volunteers that would fight on, behind enemy lines, as part of the British anti-invasion preparations of World War II. Fleming later served in Norway and Greece; his principal service, however, from 1942 to the end of the war, was as head of "D Division," in charge of military deception operations in Southeast Asia. He received an OBE in 1945 for his services.





Ian Fleming


We all know that Ian Fleming was famous for creating James Bond but how much of his influence came from his brothers work and Coleshill House? Before Ian died he moved to Warneford Place near Sevenhampton in Wiltshire. Just a stones throw from Coleshill. Why did he choose this spot? As far as we know he had no family near here. Maybe if Coleshill House had still been standing when he moved this way, he might have bought Coleshill House instead of Warneford Place.  

This video produced by Swindonweb is all about Ian Fleming and his connection locally. 

Coleshill House, Coleshill, Mabel Stranks, Highworth, Highworth Post Office, Colonel Gubbins, Auxiliary Units, Churchill's secret army, Special Operations Executive (SOE), Home Guard, The Countryman's Diary-1939, Peter Fleming, Ian Fleming, Pleydell-Bouveries, Sir Thomas Freake, Sir Henry Pratt, guerrilla warfare