Peter Fleming

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This article is about Peter Fleming the writer. For information on the tennis player of the same name, see Peter Fleming (tennis player).

Peter Fleming, OBE (May 31, 1907 – August 9, 1971) was a British adventurer and travel writer.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Peter Fleming's fame has now been almost completely eclipsed by that of his younger brother, Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond books.

The Fleming brothers were two of the four sons of the barrister and MP Valentine Fleming who was killed in action in 1917, having served as MP for Henley from 1910.

Peter Fleming was educated at Eton College and then at Christ Church, Oxford. While at Eton, he was the editor of the Eton College Chronicle, and the Peter Fleming Owl (the English meaning of "Strix", the name under which he later wrote for The Spectator) is still awarded every year to the best contributor to the Chronicle.

In 1935, he married the actress Celia Johnson (1908–1982), best known for her role in the film Brief Encounter.

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, in the event of a German invasion of Britain. 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.[citation needed]

After the war, Peter Fleming retired to squiredom at Nettlebed, Oxfordshire. He is buried in Nettlebed churchyard. The gravestone reads:

He travelled widely in far places;
Wrote, and was widely read.
Soldiered, saw some of danger's faces,
Came home to Nettlebed.
The squire lies here, his journeys ended -
Dust, and a name on a stone -
Content, amid the lands he tended,
To keep this rendezvous alone.

[edit] Travels

[edit] Brazil

In April 1932 Fleming replied to an advertisement in the personal columns of “The Times”: “Exploring and sporting expedition, under experienced guidance, leaving England June to explore rivers central Brazil, if possible ascertain fate Colonel Fawcett; abundant game, big and small; exceptional fishing; ROOM TWO MORE GUNS; highest references expected and given.”

The expedition, organised by Richard Churchyard, travelled to São Paulo, then overland to the rivers Aragauaia and Tapirapé, heading towards the likely last-known position of the Fawcett expedition. During the inward journey, the expedition was riven by increasing internal disagreements as to its objectives and plans, centred particularly around its local leader, Captain Holman. Finally, Fleming and Roger Pettiward (a school and university friend recruited onto the expedition as a result of a chance street encounter with Fleming) led a breakaway from Holman.

The remaining expedition members continued for several days up the Tapirapé to São Domingo, from where Fleming and Neville Priestley set out to look for Fawcett on their own. They made slow progress for several days, before admitting defeat. The expedition’s return journey was made down the river Aragauaia to Para Belém; it became a closely-fought race between Fleming’s party and Holman, the prize being to be the first to report home and to gain the upper hand in the battles over blame and finances that were to come. Fleming’s party narrowly won. The expedition returned to England in November 1932.

Fleming’s book about this expedition, “Brazilian adventure”, sold well. A classic, highly readable adventure tale of its period, it is still in print.

(two journeys to add: to add - one's company; travels in tartary)

[edit] Family

Peter and Celia Fleming remained married until his death in 1971, while on a shooting expedition in Argyll, Scotland. He was survived by their three children:

  • Nicholas "Nichol" Fleming (1939–1996) deposited Peter Fleming's papers for public access at the University of Reading in 1975. These include several unpublished works, as well as the manuscripts of several of his books that are now out of print.
  • Lucy Fleming (b. 1947), now Lucy Williams, is an actress. In the 1970s she starred as Jenny in the BBC's apocalyptic fiction series Survivors. She was first married in 1971 to Joseph "Joe" Laycock, the son of a family friend, by whom she had several children. The marriage was dissolved in the early 1980s, after a series of family tragedies. She then married the actor and writer Simon Williams.

After the death of his brother, Ian Fleming, Peter Fleming served on the board of Glidrose, Ltd., the company purchased by Ian to hold the literary rights to his professional writing, particularly the James Bond novels and short stories. As part of the board, Peter Fleming helped guide the future of the literary James Bond in the mid-to-late 1960s. He also tried to become a father-figure to Ian's surviving son, Casper, who eventually committed suicide in his 20s.

[edit] Other connections

Peter Fleming was the godfather of the British author and journalist Duff Hart-Davis, who wrote up Fleming's life as Peter Fleming: A Biography, published in 1974.

[edit] Legacy

The Royal Geographic Society gives out an award of £9,000 called the "The Peter Fleming Award", for a "research project that seeks to advance geographical science". [1]

[edit] Quotes

  • "São Paulo is like Reading, only much farther away" – Brazilian Adventure
  • Public opinion in England is sharply divided on the subject of Russia. On the one hand you have the crusty majority, who believe it to be a hell on earth; on the other you have the half-baked minority who believe it to be a terrestrial paradise in the making. Both cling to their opinions with the tenacity, respectively, of the die-hard and the fanatic. Both are hoplessly wrong. – One's Company

[edit] Bibliography

Fleming was a special correspondent for The Times and (as "Strix") an essayist for The Spectator; he also wrote a series of books on his travels around the world. Titles include:

  • 1933 Brazilian Adventure — Exploring the Brazilian jungle in search of the lost Colonel Percy Fawcett.
  • 1934 One's Company: A Journey to China in 1933 — Travels through Manchuria. Later reissued as half of Travels in Tartary.
  • 1936 News from Tartary: A Journey from Peking to Kashmir — Journey from Peking to Srinagar via Sinkiang. He was accompanied on this journey by Ella Maillart (Kini). Later reissued as half of Travels in Tartary.
  • 1940 The Flying Visit — A humorous novel about an unintended visit to Britain by Adolf Hitler. Illustrated by David Low.
  • 1942 A Story to Tell: And Other Tales — A collection of short stories.
  • 1952 The Sixth Column: A Singular Tale of Our Times
  • 1952 A Forgotten Journey — A diary Fleming kept during a journey through Russia and Manchuria in 1934.
  • 1956 My Aunt's Rhinoceros: And Other Reflections — A collection of essays written (as "Strix") for The Spectator.
  • 1957 Operation Sea Lion — an account of the planned Nazi invasion of Britain in 1940.
  • 1957 With the Guards to Mexico: And Other Excursions — A collection of essays written for The Spectator.
  • 1958 The Gower Street Poltergeist — A collection of essays written for The Spectator.
  • 1959 The Siege at Peking — An account of the Boxer Rebellion and the European-led siege of the Imperial capital.
  • 1961 Bayonets to Lhasa: The First Full Account of the British Invasion of Tibet in 1904
  • 1961 Goodbye to the Bombay Bowler — A collection of essays written for The Spectator.
  • 1963 The Fate of Admiral Kolchak — a study of the White Army leader Admiral Kolchak who attempted to save the Imperial Russian family at Ekaterinburg in 1918.

[edit] Sources

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