The long-classified government documents relate to his plan for a labyrinthine network of 30 miles of tunnels inside the Rock of Gibraltar during the Second World War. The 45ft long, 16ft wide and 8ft high Stay Behind Room had a 10,000-gallon water tank, enough for seven years. But the room was never used as the Nazis failed to seize Gibraltar. Fleming, who died in 1964 at 56, wrote his first Bond novel Casino Royale in 1952. Bettany Hughes's Treasures of The World: Gibraltar is due to be broadcast on Channel 4 on Saturday night.

Source: The Nation September 12, 2021 21:45 UTC