Peter Fleming, OBE (May 31, 1907 – August 18, 1971) was a British adventurer and travel writer. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 230th day of the year (231st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... Look up adventure in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Authorship redirects here. ...

Biography

Peter Fleming was one of four sons of the barrister and MP Valentine Fleming who was killed in action in 1917, having served as MP for Henley from 1910. His younger brother was Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond books. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... Major Valentine Fleming, DSO (circa 1887 – May 20, 1917) was a British Conservative Member of Parliament who was killed in World War I. Early Years Born in Fife, Scotland, Valentine was the son of the wealthy Scottish banker Robert Fleming. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... Henley is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Ian Lancaster Fleming (May 28, 1908 – August 12, 1964) was a British author, journalist and Second World War Navy Commander. ... “007” redirects here. ...

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. The Kings College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor, commonly known as Eton College or just Eton, is a public school (privately funded and independent) for boys, founded in 1440 by King Henry VI. It is located in Eton, near Windsor in England, north of Windsor Castle, and... College name Christ Church Named after Jesus Christ Established 1546 Sister College Trinity College Dean The Very Revd Christopher Andrew Lewis JCR President William Dorsey Undergraduates 426 MCR or GCR President {{{MCR President}}} Graduates 154 Home page Boat Club Christ Church (Latin: Ædes Christi, the temple or house of Christ... Cover of the Nov 12, 2005 issue of The Spectator magazine. ...

In 1935, he married the actress Celia Johnson (1908–1982), best known for her role in the film Brief Encounter. Dame Celia Johnson (1908-1982) was an English actress, famous for her role in the 1945 film, Brief Encounter, opposite Trevor Howard. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... Brief Encounter (1945) is a British film about a womans temptation toward adultery. ...

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]} Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The Grenadier Guards is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. ... Major General Sir Colin Gubbins (1896-1976) was the prime mover of the SOE (Special Operations Executive) in the Second World War. ... The Auxiliary Units (or Auxunits) were specially trained highly secret units created with the aim of resisting the expected invasion of the British Isles by Nazi Germany during World War II. Britain was the only country during the war to create such a resistance movement in advance of an invasion. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander...

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

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.

Travels

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. Brazilian Adventure is a book by Peter Fleming about his search for the lost Colonel Percy Fawcett in the Brazilian jungle. ...

Travels in Asia

Of his books on Asia, Owen Lattimore remarked that Fleming, who "passes for an easy-going amateur, is in fact an inspired amateur whose quick appreciation, especially of people, and original turn of phrase, echoing P. G. Wodehouse in only a very distant and cultured way, have created a unique kind of travel book." [1] These books included One's Company (1936) and News from Tartary (1936). They were reissued in a joint volume as Travels in Tartary: One's Company and News from Tartary (London: Cape, 1948). Owen Lattimore (July 29, 1900 – May 31, 1989) was a U.S. author and educator, the most influential American scholar of Central Asia in the 20th Century. ... Ones Company (full title: Ones Company: A Journey to China) is a book by Peter Fleming describing his travels through Japanese-occupied Manchuria and his journey south through China skirting the communist controlled regions of the Soviet Republic of China in Jiangxi. ... News from Tartary (full title: News from Tartary: A Journey from Peking to Kashmir) is a book by Peter Fleming describing his journey through and political situation of Turkestan. ...

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: Argyll, archaically Argyle (Airthir-Ghaidheal in Gaelic, translated as [the] East Gael, or [the] East Irish), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a traditional county of Scotland. ...

• 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.

• Kate Fleming (b. 1946) is now Kate Grimond, wife of John Grimond, foreign editor of the news magazine The Economist. John is a son of the late British Liberal Party leader Jo Grimond, and grandson maternally of Violet Bonham-Carter, herself daughter of the British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith). Kate and John have three children. Kate has since the late 1990s been the co-owner of the Ian Fleming estate, with her sister Lucy.

• 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 (d. 1980), the son of a family friend Robert Laycock and his wife Angela Dudley Ward, 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. Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Whiteknights Lake Whiteknights Lake in winter The University Great Hall, on the London Road Campus The University of Reading is a university in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Economist is a weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd and edited in London, UK. It has been in continuous publication since September 1843. ... This article is about the historic Liberal Party. ... Joseph Jo Grimond, Baron Grimond (July 29, 1913 - October 24, 1993) was a British politician, leader of the Liberal Party from 1956 to 1967 and again briefly in 1976. ... See Violet Bonham Carter ... The Right Honourable Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC (12 September 1852–15 February 1928) served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... Ian Lancaster Fleming (May 28, 1908 – August 12, 1964) was a British author, journalist and Second World War Navy Commander. ... Lucy Fleming is a British actress, perhaps best known for her role as Jenny Richards in the 1970s BBC drama Survivors. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Apocalyptic science fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of the world or civilization, through nuclear war, plague, or some other general disaster. ... Survivors was a British television series devised by Terry Nation and produced by Terence Dudley at the BBC from 1975 to 1977. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... Layforce consisted of Nos. ... The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ... Simon Williams (born 16 June 1946 in Windsor Berkshire) is a British actor with many television and film roles. ...

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. A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a childs baptism. ... Authorship redirects here. ... For other uses, see Journalist (disambiguation). ... Peter Duff Hart-Davis (born 1936), generally known as Duff Hart-Davis, is a British biographer and journalist, who writes (or wrote?) for The Independent newspaper. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ...

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". [2] The Royal Geographical Society with the associated Institute of British Geographers is a learned society of geography and geographers. ...

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 hopelessly wrong. – One's Company

This article is about the city. ... , Reading is a town, unitary authority (the Borough of Reading) and urban area in the English county of Berkshire. ... Brazilian Adventure is a book by Peter Fleming about his search for the lost Colonel Percy Fawcett in the Brazilian jungle. ... Ones Company (full title: Ones Company: A Journey to China) is a book by Peter Fleming describing his travels through Japanese-occupied Manchuria and his journey south through China skirting the communist controlled regions of the Soviet Republic of China in Jiangxi. ...

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: The Times is a national newspaper published daily in the United Kingdom since 1788. ... Cover of the Nov 12, 2005 issue of The Spectator magazine. ...

• 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 Invasion 1940 — an account of British anti-invasion preparations of World War II.
• 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.

Brazilian Adventure is a book by Peter Fleming about his search for the lost Colonel Percy Fawcett in the Brazilian jungle. ... Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett (1867 – presumably 1925) was a British archaeologist and explorer. ... Ones Company (full title: Ones Company: A Journey to China) is a book by Peter Fleming describing his travels through Japanese-occupied Manchuria and his journey south through China skirting the communist controlled regions of the Soviet Republic of China in Jiangxi. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... News from Tartary (full title: News from Tartary: A Journey from Peking to Kashmir) is a book by Peter Fleming describing his journey through and political situation of Turkestan. ... “Peking” redirects here. ... For Srinagar in Uttarakhand, see Srinagar, Uttarakhand. ... For the county in Shanxi province, see Xinjiang County. ... Ella Maillart 1903-1997 was a French speaking Swiss sportswoman and traveller. ... Hitler redirects here. ... Sir David Alexander Cecil Low (7 April 1891–19 September 1963) was a New Zealand political cartoonist. ... Operation Sealion (Unternehmen Seelöwe in German) was a World War II German plan to invade Britain. ... Detail from a pillbox embrasure. ... Combatants Eight-Nation Alliance (ordered by contribution): Empire of Japan Russian Empire British Empire France United States German Empire Kingdom of Italy Austro-Hungarian Empire Righteous Harmony Society Qing Dynasty (China) Commanders Edward Seymour Alfred Graf von Waldersee Ci Xi Strength 20,000 initially 49,000 total 50,000-100... White Army redirects here. ... Aleksandr Vasiliyevich Kolchak (Александр Васильевич Колчак in Russian) (November 4 (November 16 NS), 1874 - February 7, 1920) was a Russian naval commander and later head of part of... Snow-covered statue of Sverdlov in Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburgs Church on the Blood built on the spot where the Tsar and his family were executed. ...

Sources

• A short biography provided by the University of Reading
• A profile stressing his travel writing
• Peter Fleming genealogy. Retrieved 21 September 2007.
• Peter Fleming's daughters
• Source for the death date of his son Nicholas Fleming
• Source for the second marriage of Lucy Fleming to a fellow actor; her father, mother, sister, and uncle are also listed in the IMDb database
• Bleiler, Everett (1948). The Checklist of Fantastic Literature. Chicago: Shasta Publishers, 116.