Paddy Ridsdale
Encyclopedia
Dame Victoire Evelyn Patricia "Paddy" Bennett, Lady Ridsdale DBE
(11 October 1921 - 16 December 2009) was a British
secretary and intelligence operative. She was author Ian Fleming
's secretary during World War II
and was the model for his character Miss Moneypenny
, James Bond
's loyal, long-suffering secretary.
She was wife of Sir Julian Ridsdale
and daughter-in-law of Sir Aurelian Ridsdale
. She served as an intelligence operative during World War II
.
It was later disclosed that she had assisted Fleming's counter-intelligence efforts during World War II. She was responsible for helping deceive the Axis by creating a fictitious identity for a body that had turned up drowned, The Man Who Never Was
. The body was "disguise[d] as that of a naval officer, complete with totally convincing "secret" papers showing a different plan of attack ... [t]he body, appearing to be a casualty from a shot-down plane, would then be floated ashore in Spain, where local German spies would find it ... Fleming's task was to make the body totally convincing. The book covers the minute attention paid to detail, which included placing theatre tickets and love letters in 'Major Martin's' pockets Paddy Bennett is one of two probable authors of those love letters.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(11 October 1921 - 16 December 2009) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
secretary and intelligence operative. She was author Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
's secretary during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and was the model for his character Miss Moneypenny
Miss Moneypenny
Jane Moneypenny, better known as Miss Moneypenny, is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. She is secretary to M, who is Bond's boss and head of the British Secret Service...
, James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
's loyal, long-suffering secretary.
She was wife of Sir Julian Ridsdale
Julian Ridsdale
Sir Julian Errington Ridsdale, CBE was a British National Liberal and later Conservative Party politician and long-serving Member of Parliament for the constituency of Harwich in Essex...
and daughter-in-law of Sir Aurelian Ridsdale
Aurelian Ridsdale
Sir Edward Aurelian Ridsdale GBE was a British Liberal politician and leading member of the British Red Cross Society.He was the brother of Lucy Ridsdale, who married Stanley Baldwin....
. She served as an intelligence operative during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
It was later disclosed that she had assisted Fleming's counter-intelligence efforts during World War II. She was responsible for helping deceive the Axis by creating a fictitious identity for a body that had turned up drowned, The Man Who Never Was
The Man Who Never Was
The Man Who Never Was is a nonfiction 1953 book by Ewen Montagu and a 1956 Second World War war film, based on the book and dramatising actual events...
. The body was "disguise[d] as that of a naval officer, complete with totally convincing "secret" papers showing a different plan of attack ... [t]he body, appearing to be a casualty from a shot-down plane, would then be floated ashore in Spain, where local German spies would find it ... Fleming's task was to make the body totally convincing. The book covers the minute attention paid to detail, which included placing theatre tickets and love letters in 'Major Martin's' pockets Paddy Bennett is one of two probable authors of those love letters.