Merlin Minshall

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Merlin Theodore Minshall was a British naval officer and adventurer. He is often claimed to have been one of the inspirations behind James Bond, the fictional spy created by Ian Fleming. Minshall work

Escaping from France by sea November 1940

Enkhuizen Netherlands Zuiderzee Museum ships hall with the boeier [nl] Sperwer oe owned by Merlin Minshall

Royal Naval Reserve

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The Royal Naval Reserve is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was

Merlin Minshall

…man to drive an air-cooled vehicle north to south across the Sahara desert. At the outbreak of World War II, he was recalled to duty as part of the RNVR, where he had a varied career, including working for Ian Fleming. Initially, he was a watchkeeper in the Admiralty operations room in London. In early…

Members of the Royal Naval Reserve training at Tramore, County Waterford, c. 1905

A First World War RNR Lieutenant wearing the "wavy navy" rank insignia of reserve officers

Lieutenants of the RNR (left) and RNVR (right) during the Second World War—note the difference in insignia styles.

The crew of HMS Castle Harbour, assigned to the Royal Naval Dockyard in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda as the Examination Service vessel (that inspected merchant ships at Five Fathom Hole, under the guns of St. David's Battery - designated the Examination Battery, prior to their entering the shipping channel through Bermuda's reef). Crew members shown included a Royal Naval Reserve officer at left, a Royal Navy officer, regular and temporary ratings,