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A spy who is thought to have inspired Ian Fleming's James Bond has had 007 added to his gravestone after his family found out he served under the author.

Real-life spy James Charles Bond , from Swansea, Wales, never revealed his past before his death in 1995 aged 89.

His grandson Stephen Phillips later found out he had served under Fleming, who penned the Bond books, in World War 2 as a Special Operations Executive (SOE) after he trawled through old documents.

Documents found by Mr Phillips showed Mr Bond, who had been a former metalworker, was a member of the elite force and worked on missions under Fleming, a former Naval commander who went on to write the James Bond books.

Mr Phillips believes Fleming chose his grandfather's name for the famous spy novels.

"There were 100million soldiers from 30 countries and only 13,000 SOEs. Only one SOE was called James Bond.

"Grandad was protected by Ian Fleming himself I believe."

(Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE) (Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE)

Mr Phillips said his grandfather had been trained in explosives and firearms. The greengrocer added that Mr Bond had even talked about his past when alive in a veiled way.

"Grandfather took my cousin Jenny when she was a teenager by the hand one day saying, 'Believe me when I tell you, I am the real James Bond'. Nothing more was said and no questions were asked," he said.

"But we found out that grandad was a spy working behind enemy lines, and in 1942 that Ian Fleming put an elite team of SOEs together for a mission, details of which have not been disclosed."

(Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE)

(Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE)

Mr Phillips added he felt his grandfather hadn't spoken about his wartime work because of the Official Secrets Act, but feels it's now been acknowledged with the 007 on his gravestone.

"It is only right that his military past is listed on his headstone," he said.

"Seeing the headstone standing proud recognising grandad's '007' status and proper birth name has been so important to our family."

Fleming, who died in 1964, had said James Bond was named after a USA ornithologist. The author said he wanted a "plain, simple name" for Bond.

The headstone now reads "James Charles Bond, S.O.E 007, 1906-1995, loving husband, father and grandfather".