Fleming and the Camp X Controversy

During World War Two Ian Fleming, while working on special 'ops' for British Naval Intelligence, was able to visit and observe the special training given to agents at 'Camp X', which was located by Lake Ontario, about 30 minutes from Toronto, in Canada. The agents at the camp were being trained for special espionage operations behind German enemy lines. Another colleague of Fleming who received training there was Roald Dahl (who years later became a celebrated children's author and also wrote the screenplay for EON's 'You Only Live Twice').

'Camp X' was run by Britain's SOE (Special Operations Executive), an organisation specially sanctioned by Winston Churchill. SOE was told by the wartime British Prime Minister to create chaos behind enemy lines and to set Nazi-occupied Europe alight. The camp was overseen by Churchill's favourite spymaster Sir William Stephenson, whose codename was 'Intrepid'. Stephenson was also head of Britain's shadowy 'British Security Coordination' (BSC) network, which had specialised in infiltrating stories into the American mass media, designed to encourage Washington to join the war on Britain's side in the early months of the conflict. BSC's operatives in the USA included Roald Dahl and Ivar Bryce, a close friend of Fleming. 

Ian Fleming was able to gain first-hand experience of the type of training being given to Allied agents at Camp X. The camp helped train, for example, the three Czech agents who went on to assassinate SS General Reinhard Heydrich in Prague in 1942, a hit which enraged Hitler.

According to a recent report in the UK's 'Daily Mail' newspaper, British and other allied agents at the top-secret British spy camp 'on the bleak shore' of the Canadian lake were given intensive training in using deadly weapons which were contained in a whole armoury of special espionage gadgets developed at the camp, including a camera that shot darts, a lipstick tube containing a dagger, a poison gas pen, and even a fake monkey dung that could explode! It is highly likely that some of these gadgets were a source of inspiration for Fleming when he later wrote the 007 adventures.

The unique items are all part of a large collection left behind after the wartime camp was finally closed in 1969 (having been taken over from SOE and run by Canadian Intelligence after 1945). Other items among the hundreds of artefacts include photographs, uniforms, weapons, radios and fake cash.

Camp X Heritage In Danger?

According to the 'Mail', for many years all this material was housed in a 'Camp X' museum, but now the museum's current owner wants to sell up. Moreover, the material was originally collected together by Canadian Robert Stuart during his lifetime and 'many trusted him with family heirlooms'. However, as the 'Mail' puts it: 'After his death, his daughter Deirdre took over the collection, based near the old camp, but sources say pieces began appearing on internet auction site eBay'.

As the 'Mail' notes, Deirdre has recently defended the controversial strategy, causing anger among those with links to camp. She said: 'We've had this museum for 33 years. It's ours'. The 'Mail' entitled it's report 'Auction heaven for 007', but it is clear many of those who originally donated items to the museum are dismayed by the sale of what they regard as the unique heritage of Camp X.

Unfortunately, another source has told the Fan Club that Deidre Stuart appears determined to break up the collection and that, legally, there is little Camp X veterans can do.