Ian Fleming Foundation Ian Fleming lived a remarkably uncompromising life in a world full of compromises.
Further reading is highly recommended.
Family Background Born in 1908 as the son of Valentine Fleming, and the grandson of the wealthy Scottish banker Robert Fleming, Ian Lancaster Fleming grew up the member of a rare class of Englishmen for whom all options are open. The privilege of class and respect came not merely from his grandfather's money, as wealth alone in England does not guarantee open doors. The Fleming family earned their social stripes with service and blood. When Valentine Fleming died in the Great War, Ian was 8 days shy of his ninth birthday. Winston Churchill wrote the obituary for The Times.