Fleming, Valentine

Valentine Fleming was born in 1882 in Newport-on-Thay and was the oldest child in the family of Scottish financier Robert Fleming, who founded the Scottish-American Investment Trust and Merchant Bank Robert Fleming & Co ^[2] , and Kate Hindmarsh, daughter of a tax officer ^{[3 ]} . In addition to Valentine, the family of Robert and Kate had a son, , born in 1889, and two daughters, Dorothy, who was born in 1885, and Caitlin, who was two years younger than her sister. Soon after the birth of the youngest son, the Fleming family moved to London, where they acquired several mansions ^[3] . Robert's sons studied at Eton and Oxford; in 1905, Valentine graduated from Oxford , receiving a degree in history, as well as "the manner and posture of a real gentleman" ^[4] . In 1909, Valentine became one of his father's partners in the newly formed bank, and a year later he was elected a conservative party member of parliament from Henley ^{[5] [6]} .

One year after graduating from college, February 15, 1906, Valentine married Evelyn Saint-Croix Rose, daughter of Justice of the Peace George Alfred Saint-Croix Rose and Beatrice Quane. Evelyn came from a very respected family: on her father she was the granddaughter of Sir Philip Rose, legal adviser to Prime Minister Disraeli ; by mother, Sir Richard Quain, a leading London surgeon and editor of the famous Medical Dictionary. In addition to Evelyn, the family had a daughter Caitlin and two sons - Ivor and Hartcourt; Valentine was well acquainted with the latter. According to family legend, Valentine and Evelyn met at a ball in Oxford; in addition, the girl’s father was fond of the regatta, in which Valentine also took part. Evelyn was the exact opposite of her future spouse: she played the violin and painted well in watercolor, while not a single member of the Fleming family had any ability in music or art. In addition, Evelyn was a woman extremely frivolous and wasteful, characterized by snobbery and vanity ^[4] .

Despite the initial disagreement with the bride’s choice, Valentine’s father transferred a quarter of a million pounds to his son’s account shortly after the wedding ^[7] ; With this money, the family acquired several houses, two of which were located next to the possessions of Valentine's parents. In the Mayfair house, which was around the corner of the Fleming Senior House, the eldest sons Evelyn were born - Peter and Ian ^{[8] [9]} . Peter (1907-1971) was the author of travel essays and was married to actress Celia Johnson . During the Second World War, Peter served in the Grenadier Guard , and later was transferred to the command of , where he helped create auxiliary units and was involved in operations in Norway and Greece ^[10] . Ian, the author of James Bond novels , served on the British Naval Intelligence Agency and participated in the creation and subsequent oversight of two reconnaissance units - 30 assault units ^[11] and the operational unit ^[12] .

In addition to Peter and Ian, the family had two more sons - Michael (1913-1940) and Richard (1911-1977). In addition, six years after her husband’s death, during the lengthy romance by the artist Augustus John, Evelyn gave birth to a daughter, ^[19] , who became a professional cellist ^[14] .

In 1914, with the outbreak of World War I, Valentine joined the Squadron of the , where he received the rank of Major ^[5] . Shortly before being sent to the front, Valentine signed a will in which his widow got a house near Hampstead Heath , as well as a substantial pension, which could be cut in the event of remarriage to Evelyn; most of the property was transferred to the trust to ensure the well-being of the four sons of Valentine and their future families ^[15] . Valentine was killed during the German shelling on the western front on May 20, 1917; Winston Churchill , who was a close friend of Fleming Sr. and whose brother served with Valentine at the beginning of the war, wrote an obituary published in The Times ^[15] . Valentine was posthumously awarded the Order of Outstanding Merit . Since the family owned the estate in , the name Valentine appears on the war memorial in ^[16] .

• General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes (1837–1915). - 1837-1915. - T. 1a.
• Longden, Sean. T-Force: The Race for Nazi War Secrets, 1945 . - Constable, 2010 .-- 464 p. - ISBN 1849012970 , 9781849012973.
• Lycett, Andrew. Fleming, Ian Lancaster (1908–1964) // Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. - Oxford University Press, 2004. (doi: 10.1093 / ref: odnb / 33168)
• Lycett, Andrew. Ian Fleming . - Phoenix, 1996 .-- 486 p. - ISBN 1857997832 , 9781857997835.
• Rankin, Nicholas. Ian Flemings Commandos: The Story of the Legendary 30 Assault Unit . - Oxford University Press, 2011 .-- 416 p. - ISBN 0199912025 , 9780199912025.