Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...
Robert Peter Fleming (31 May 1907 – 18 August 1971) was a British adventurer, journalist, soldier and
travel writer
The genre of travel literature encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs.
One early travel memoirist in Western literature was Pausanias, a Greek geographer of the 2nd century CE. In the early modern per ...
.
["Obituary Colonel Peter Fleming, Author and explorer". '']The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'', 20 August 1971 p14 column F. He was the elder brother of
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., an ...
, creator of
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...
.
Early life
Peter Fleming was one of four sons of the
barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...
and
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP)
Valentine Fleming
Major Valentine Fleming (17 February 1882 – 20 May 1917) was a British Conservative Member of Parliament who was killed in World War I. He was the father of authors Peter Fleming and Ian Fleming, the latter of whom created the James Bond c ...
, who was killed in action in 1917, having served as MP for
Henley
Henley may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Henley, Dorset, a location
* Henley, Gloucestershire, a location
* Henley-on-Thames, a town in South Oxfordshire, England
** Henley (UK Parliament constituency)
** Henley Rural District, a former ru ...
from 1910. Fleming was educated at
Eton, where he edited the ''Eton College Chronicle''. The Peter Fleming Owl (the English meaning of "Strix", the name under which he later wrote for ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...
'') is still awarded every year to the best contributor to the ''Chronicle''. He went on from Eton to
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniq ...
, and graduated with a first-class degree in English.
Fleming was a member of the
Bullingdon Club
The Bullingdon Club is a private all-male dining club for Oxford University students. It is known for its wealthy members, grand banquets, and bad behaviour, including vandalism of restaurants and students' rooms. The club is known to select it ...
during his time at Oxford. On 10 December 1935 he married the actress
Celia Johnson
Dame Celia Elizabeth Johnson, (18 December 1908 – 26 April 1982) was an English actress, whose career included stage, television and film. She is especially known for her roles in the films '' In Which We Serve'' (1942), '' This Happy Br ...
(1908–1982), best known for her roles in the films ''
Brief Encounter
''Brief Encounter'' is a 1945 British romantic drama film directed by David Lean from a screenplay by Noël Coward, based on his 1936 one-act play ''Still Life''.
Starring Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, and Joyce Carey, ...
'' and ''
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie''.
Travels
In Brazil
In April 1932 Fleming replied to an advertisement in the personal columns of ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'': "Exploring and sporting expedition, under experienced guidance, leaving England June to explore rivers central Brazil, if possible ascertain fate Colonel
Percy Fawcett
Percy Harrison Fawcett (18 August 1867 during or after 1925) was a British geographer, artillery officer, cartographer, archaeologist, and explorer of South America. Fawcett disappeared in 1925 (along with his eldest son, Jack, and one o ...
; abundant game, big and small; exceptional fishing; room two more guns; highest references expected and given." He then joined the expedition, organised by Robert Churchward, to São Paulo, then overland to the rivers
Araguaia and
Tapirapé, heading towards the last-known position of the Fawcett expedition.
During the inward journey the expedition was riven by increasing disagreements as to its objectives and plans, centred particularly on its local leader, whom Fleming disguised as "Major Pingle" when he wrote about the expedition. Fleming and
Roger Pettiward
The Pettiward Family were a landed family prominent in Putney and Great Finborough, Suffolk who control the Pettiward Estate in Earl's Court, London.
John Pettiward
In 1630 John Pettiward married Sarah White daughter and heiress of Henry White ...
(a school and university friend recruited onto the expedition as a result of a chance encounter with Fleming) led a breakaway group.
This group continued for several days up the Tapirapé to São Domingo, from where Fleming, Pettiward, Neville Priestley and one of the Brazilians hired by the expedition set out to find evidence of Fawcett's fate on their own. After acquiring two Tapirapé guides the party began a march to the area where Fawcett was reported to have last been seen. They made slow progress for several days, losing the Indian guides and Neville to foot infection, before admitting defeat.
The expedition's return journey was made down the River Araguaia to
Belém
Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in ...
. It became a closely fought race between Fleming's party and "Major Pingle", the prize being to be the first to report home, and thus to gain the upper hand in the battles over blame and finances that were to come. Fleming's party narrowly won. The expedition returned to England in November 1932.
Fleming's book about the expedition, ''
Brazilian Adventure
''Brazilian Adventure'' is a book by Peter Fleming about his search for the lost Colonel Percy Fawcett in the Brazilian jungle. The book was initially published in 1933 by Alden Press.
Overview
In 1925, British explorer Colonel Percy Fawcett, ...
'', has sold well ever since it was first published in 1933, and is still in print.
In Asia
Fleming travelled from Moscow to Peking via the Caucasus, the Caspian, Samarkand, Tashkent, the
Turksib Railway and the
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the ea ...
to Peking as a special correspondent of ''The Times''. His experiences were written up in ''
One's Company
''One's Company: A Journey to China'' (London: Cape, 1934) is a travel book by Peter Fleming, correspondent for ''The Times of London'', describing his journey day-by-day from London through Moscow and the Trans-Siberian Railway, then through Jap ...
'' (1934). He then went overland in company of
Ella Maillart
Ella Maillart (or Ella K. Maillart; 20 February 1903, Geneva – 27 March 1997, Chandolin) was a Swiss adventurer, travel writer and photographer, as well as a sportswoman.
Early life
Ella Maillart was the second child, born to a wealthy fur ...
from China via
Tunganistan to India on a journey written up in ''
News from Tartary
''News from Tartary: A Journey from Peking to Kashmir'' is a 1936 travel book by Peter Fleming, describing his journey and the political situation of Turkestan (historically known as Tartary).
The book recounts Fleming's journey from Peking, C ...
'' (1936). These two books were combined as ''Travels in Tartary: One's Company and News from Tartary'' (1941). All three volumes were published by Jonathan Cape.
According to Nicolas Clifford, for Fleming China "had the aspect of a comic opera land whose quirks and oddities became grist for the writer, rather than deserving any respect or sympathy in themselves". In ''One's Company'', for example, Fleming reports that Beijing was "lacking in charm", Harbin was a city of "no easily definable character". Changchun was "entirely characterless", and Shenyang was "non-descript and suburban". However, Fleming also provides insights into
Manchukuo
Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 after the Japanese ...
, the Japanese puppet state in
Manchuria
Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...
, which helped contemporary readers to understand Chinese resentment and resistance, and the aftermath of the
Kumul Rebellion
The Kumul Rebellion (, "Hami Uprising") was a rebellion of Kumulik Uyghurs from 1931 to 1934 who conspired with Hui Chinese Muslim Gen. Ma Zhongying to overthrow Jin Shuren, governor of Xinjiang. The Kumul Uyghurs were loyalists of the Kumul ...
. In the course of these travels Fleming met and interviewed many prominent figures in Central Asia and China, including the
Chinese Muslim
Islam has been practiced in China since the 7th century CE.. Muslims are a minority group in China, representing 1.6-2 percent of the total population (21,667,000- 28,210,795) according to various estimates. Though Hui Muslims are the most nume ...
General
Ma Hushan, the Chinese Muslim Taoyin of
Kashgar
Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan ...
,
Ma Shaowu
Ma Shaowu (1874–1937; Xiao'erjing: ) was a Hui born in Yunnan, in Qing Dynasty China. He was a member of the Xinjiang clique during the Republic of China.
Family history
The Jahriyya Sufi leader Ma Yuanzhang was related to the leader of ...
, and
Pu Yi
Aisin-Gioro Puyi (; 7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967), courtesy name Yaozhi (曜之), was the last emperor of China as the eleventh and final Qing dynasty monarch. He became emperor at the age of two in 1908, but was forced to abdicate on 1 ...
.
Of ''Travels in Tartary'',
Owen Lattimore
Owen Lattimore (July 29, 1900 – May 31, 1989) was an American Orientalist and writer. He was an influential scholar of China and Central Asia, especially Mongolia. Although he never earned a college degree, in the 1930s he was editor of ''Pacif ...
remarked that Fleming, who "passes for an easy-going amateur, is in fact an inspired amateur whose quick appreciation, especially of people, and original turn of phrase, echoing P. G. Wodehouse in only a very distant and cultured way, have created a unique kind of travel book". Lattimore added that it "is only in the political news from Tartary that there is a disappointment", as, in his view, Fleming offers "a simplified explanation, in terms of Red intrigue and Bolshevik villains, which does not make sense."
Stuart Stevens retraced Peter Fleming's route and wrote his own travel book.
Second World War
Just before war was declared, Peter Fleming, then a reserve officer in the
Grenadier Guards
"Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it."
, colors =
, colors_label =
, march = Slow: " Scipio"
, mascot =
, equipment =
, equipment ...
, was recruited by the War Office research section investigating the potential of irregular warfare (MIR). His initial task was to develop ideas to assist the Chinese guerrillas fighting the Japanese. He served in the Norwegian campaign with the prototype commando units – Independent Companies – but in May 1940 he was tasked with research into the potential use of the new
Local Defence Volunteers
The Home Guard (initially Local Defence Volunteers or LDV) was an armed citizen militia supporting the British Army during the Second World War. Operational from 1940 to 1944, the Home Guard had 1.5 million local volunteers otherwise ineligible f ...
(later the Home Guard) as guerrilla troops. His ideas were first incorporated into General Thorne's XII Corps Observation Unit, forerunner of the GHQ
Auxiliary Units. Fleming recruited his brother, Richard, then serving in the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
, to provide a core of
Lovat Scout instructors to his teams of LDV volunteers.
Meanwhile, Fleming wrote a speculative novel called ''The Flying Visit'' in which he imagined
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
flying to Britain to propose peace with that nation, only to have United Kingdom let him return in light of the awkward diplomatic quandary he placed the British government in. It proved bizarrely prescient in 1941 when Hitler's Deputy,
Rudolf Hess, did that exact excursion into Britain and Britain found their new high ranked Nazi prisoner cumbersome for their foreign and propaganda policies.
When
Colin Gubbins
Major-General Sir Colin McVean Gubbins (2 July 1896 – 11 February 1976) was the prime mover of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in the Second World War.
Gubbins was also responsible for setting up the secret Auxiliary Units, a command ...
was appointed to head the new
Auxiliary Units, he incorporated many of Peter's ideas, which aimed to create secret commando teams of Home Guard in the coastal districts most liable to the risk of invasion. Their role was to launch sabotage raids on the flanks and rear of any invading army, in support of regular troops, but they were never intended as a post-occupation 'resistance' force, having a life expectancy of only two weeks.
Peter Fleming later served in Greece, but his principal service, from 1942 to the end of the war, was as head of D Division, in charge of
military deception
Military deception (MILDEC) is an attempt by a military unit to gain an advantage during warfare by misleading adversary decision makers into taking action or inaction that creates favorable conditions for the deceiving force. This is usually ac ...
operations in Southeast Asia, based in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
, India. He was scheduled to take part in the second Chindit operation, but this was cut short by the premature crash landing of a defective glider. The episode is described in an appendix Fleming contributed to Michael Calvert's book on the operation.
Fleming was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the
1945 Birthday Honours and in 1948 he was awarded the
Order of the Cloud and Banner with Special Rosette by the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
.
Later life
After the war Peter Fleming retired to squiredom at
Nettlebed
Nettlebed is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire in the Chiltern Hills about northwest of Henley-on-Thames and southeast of Wallingford. The parish includes the hamlet of Crocker End, about east of the village. The 2011 Census recor ...
, Oxfordshire and was appointed a
Deputy Lieutenant for Oxfordshire on 31 July 1970.
Death
Fleming died on 18 August 1971 from a heart attack while on a shooting expedition near
Glen Coe
Glen Coe ( gd, Gleann Comhann ) is a glen of volcanic origins, in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies in the north of the county of Argyll, close to the border with the historic province of Lochaber, within the modern council area of Highland ...
in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. His body was buried in Nettlebed churchyard, where a
stained glass window dedicated to his memory was later installed in the church. The gravestone has verses he wrote himself:
He travelled widely in far places;
Wrote, and was widely read.
Soldiered, saw some of danger's faces,
Came home to Nettlebed.
The squire lies here, his journeys ended –
Dust, and a name on a stone –
Content, amid the lands he tended,
To keep this rendezvous alone.
Family
After the death of his brother Ian, Peter Fleming served on the board of
Glidrose, Ltd, the company purchased by Ian to hold the literary rights to his professional writing, particularly the
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...
novels and short stories. Peter also tried to become a substitute father for Ian's surviving son, Caspar, who overdosed on narcotics in his twenties.
Peter and Celia Fleming remained married until his death in 1971. He was survived by their three children:
*Nicholas Peter Val Fleming (1939–1995), writer and squire of Nettlebed. He deposited Peter Fleming's papers for public access at the
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...
in 1975. These include several unpublished works, as well as the manuscripts of several of his books that are now out of print. Nichol Fleming's partner for many years was the merchant banker Christopher Roxburghe Balfour (born 1941), brother of
Neil Balfour
Neil is a masculine name of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. ...
, second husband (1969–78) of
Princess Jelizaveta of Yugoslavia. Nettlebed is now jointly owned by his sisters.
*(Roberta) Katherine Fleming (born 1946), writer and publisher, is now Kate Grimond, wife of Johnny Grimond, foreign editor of ''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
''. Johnny is the elder surviving son of the late
British Liberal Party leader
Jo Grimond
Joseph Grimond, Baron Grimond, (; 29 July 1913 – 24 October 1993), known as Jo Grimond, was a British politician, leader of the Liberal Party for eleven years from 1956 to 1967 and again briefly on an interim basis in 1976.
Grimond was a lo ...
, and grandson maternally of
Violet Bonham-Carter
Helen Violet Bonham Carter, Baroness Asquith of Yarnbury, (15 April 1887 – 19 February 1969), known until her marriage as Violet Asquith, was a British politician and diarist. She was the daughter of H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister from 1908 ...
, herself daughter of the British Prime Minister
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...
. Kate and John have three children, Jessie (a journalist), Rose (an actress turned organic foods entrepreneur) and Georgia (a journalist, formerly at ''The Economist'' online, now living and freelancing in Rio de Janeiro).
*
Lucy Fleming (born 1947) is an actress. In the 1970s she starred as Jenny in the BBC's
apocalyptic fiction
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astr ...
series ''
Survivors''. She was first married in 1971 to Joseph "Joe" Laycock (died 1980), son of a family friend
Robert Laycock
Major-General Sir Robert Edward Laycock, (18 April 1907 – 10 March 1968) was a senior British Army officer best known for his influential role in the establishment and command of British Commandos during the Second World War.
Early life
L ...
and his wife Angela Dudley Ward, and was on honeymoon at the time of her father's sudden death in Argyllshire. Lucy and Joe had two sons and a daughter, Flora. Flora and her father, Joe, were drowned in a boating accident in 1980. At the time of their deaths Lucy and Joe were separated on good terms. Lucy later married the actor and writer
Simon Williams. Her sons are Diggory and Robert Laycock.
Peter Fleming was the godfather of the British author and journalist
Duff Hart-Davis
Peter Duff Hart-Davis (born 3 June 1936), generally known as Duff Hart-Davis is a British biographer, naturalist and journalist, who writes for ''The Independent'' newspaper. He is married to Phyllida Barstow and has one son and one daughter, th ...
, who wrote ''Peter Fleming: A Biography'' (published by Jonathan Cape in 1974). Duff's father
Rupert Hart-Davis
Sir Rupert Charles Hart-Davis (28 August 1907 – 8 December 1999) was an English publisher and editor. He founded the publishing company Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd. As a biographer, he is remembered for his ''Hugh Walpole'' (1952), as an editor, f ...
, a publisher, was good friends with Peter, who gave him a home on the Nettlebed estate for many years and gave financial backing to his publishing ventures.
Legacy
The Peter Fleming Award, worth £9,000, is given by the
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
for a "research project that seeks to advance geographical science".
Fleming's book about the
British military expedition to Tibet in 1903 to 1904 is credited in the Chinese film ''
Red River Valley'' (1997).
Quotations
*"
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
is like
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
, only much farther away." – ''Brazilian Adventure''
*"Public opinion in England is sharply divided on the subject of Russia. On the one hand you have the crusty majority, who believe it to be a hell on earth; on the other you have the half-baked minority who believe it to be a terrestrial paradise in the making. Both cling to their opinions with the tenacity, respectively, of the die-hard and the fanatic. Both are hopelessly wrong." – ''One's Company''
*The recorded history of Chinese civilisation covers a period of four thousand years.
:The Population of China is estimated at 450 million.
:China is larger than Europe.
:The author of this book is twenty-six years old.
:He has spent, altogether, about seven months in China.
:He does not speak Chinese.
:: Preface, ''One's Company''
Fleming's works
Fleming was a special correspondent for ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'' and often wrote under the pen-name "Strix" (Latin for "screech owl") an essayist for ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...
''.
Non-fiction
*1933 ''
Brazilian Adventure
''Brazilian Adventure'' is a book by Peter Fleming about his search for the lost Colonel Percy Fawcett in the Brazilian jungle. The book was initially published in 1933 by Alden Press.
Overview
In 1925, British explorer Colonel Percy Fawcett, ...
'' – Exploring the Brazilian jungle in search of the lost Colonel
Percy Fawcett
Percy Harrison Fawcett (18 August 1867 during or after 1925) was a British geographer, artillery officer, cartographer, archaeologist, and explorer of South America. Fawcett disappeared in 1925 (along with his eldest son, Jack, and one o ...
.
*1934 ''
One's Company
''One's Company: A Journey to China'' (London: Cape, 1934) is a travel book by Peter Fleming, correspondent for ''The Times of London'', describing his journey day-by-day from London through Moscow and the Trans-Siberian Railway, then through Jap ...
: A Journey to China in 1933'' – Travels through the USSR,
Manchuria
Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...
and China. Later reissued as half of ''Travels in Tartary''.
*1936 ''
News from Tartary
''News from Tartary: A Journey from Peking to Kashmir'' is a 1936 travel book by Peter Fleming, describing his journey and the political situation of Turkestan (historically known as Tartary).
The book recounts Fleming's journey from Peking, C ...
: A Journey from Peking to Kashmir'' – Journey from
Peking
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
to
Srinagar
Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...
via
Sinkiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
. He was accompanied on this journey by
Ella Maillart
Ella Maillart (or Ella K. Maillart; 20 February 1903, Geneva – 27 March 1997, Chandolin) was a Swiss adventurer, travel writer and photographer, as well as a sportswoman.
Early life
Ella Maillart was the second child, born to a wealthy fur ...
(Kini). Later reissued as half of ''Travels in Tartary''.
*
*1952 ''A Forgotten Journey'' – A diary Fleming kept during a journey through Russia and Manchuria in 1934. Reprinted as ''To Peking: A Forgotten Journey from Moscow to Manchuria'' (2009, )
*1953 Introduction to ''
Seven Years in Tibet
''Seven Years in Tibet: My Life Before, During and After'' (1952; german: Sieben Jahre in Tibet. Mein Leben am Hofe des Dalai Lama; 1954 in English) is an autobiographical travel book written by Austrian mountaineer and Nazi SS sergeant Heinrich ...
'' by Heinrich Harrer published by Rupert Hart-Davis, London
*1955
Tibetan Marches' – A translation from French of ''Caravane vers Bouddha'' by
André Migot
André Migot (1892–1967) was a French doctor, traveler and writer.
He served as an army medical officer in World War I, winning the Croix de Guerre. After the war he engaged in research in marine biology, and then practised as a doctor in F ...
*1956 ''My Aunt's Rhinoceros: And Other Reflections'' — A collection of essays written (as "Strix") for ''The Spectator''.
*1957 ''Invasion 1940'' — an account of the
planned Nazi invasion of Britain and
British anti-invasion preparations of the Second World War
British anti-invasion preparations of the Second World War entailed a large-scale division of military and civilian mobilisation in response to the threat of invasion (Operation Sea Lion) by German armed forces in 1940 and 1941. The British Ar ...
. Published in the United States as ''Operation Sea Lion''
*1957 ''With the Guards to Mexico: And Other Excursions'' — A collection of essays written for ''The Spectator''.
*1958 ''The Gower Street Poltergeist'' — A collection of essays written for ''The Spectator''.
*1959 ''The Siege at Peking'' — An account of the
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...
and the European-led siege of the Imperial capital.
*1961 ''Bayonets to Lhasa: The First Full Account of the British Invasion of Tibet in 1904''
*1961 ''Goodbye to the Bombay Bowler'' — A collection of essays written for ''The Spectator'' as 'Strix'.
*1963 ''The Fate of Admiral Kolchak'' — a study of the
White Army
The White Army (russian: Белая армия, Belaya armiya) or White Guard (russian: Бѣлая гвардія/Белая гвардия, Belaya gvardiya, label=none), also referred to as the Whites or White Guardsmen (russian: Бѣлогв ...
leader
Admiral Kolchak
Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (russian: link=no, Александр Васильевич Колчак; – 7 February 1920) was an Imperial Russian admiral, military leader and polar explorer who served in the Imperial Russian Navy and fought ...
who led the anti-Bolshevik movement in Siberia from November 1918 to January 1920.
Fiction
;Books
*1940 ''The Flying Visit'' – A humorous novel about an unintended visit to Britain by
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
. Illustrated by
David Low.
*1942 ''A Story to Tell; and other Tales'' — A collection of short stories.
*1951 ''The Sixth Column. A Singular Tale of Our Times'' — A humorous novella, around the idea of random traitors acting merely because they are in position to act, unlike
fifth columnists
A fifth column is any group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. According to Harris Mylonas and Scott Radnitz, "fifth columns" are “domestic actors who work to un ...
with established ideological or command connections to foreign powers.
* ''The Sett'' (unfinished, unpublished)
;Short fiction
* "The Kill" (1931)
* "Felipe" (1937)
Other
*1932 ''Spectator's Gallery: Essays, Sketches, Short Stories & Poems from The Spectator'' — editor with
Derek Verschoyle.
*1933 ''Variety: Essays, Sketches and Stories'' — illustrated by
Roger Pettiward
The Pettiward Family were a landed family prominent in Putney and Great Finborough, Suffolk who control the Pettiward Estate in Earl's Court, London.
John Pettiward
In 1630 John Pettiward married Sarah White daughter and heiress of Henry White ...
.
References
;Notes
;Cited works
*
*
* La Gazette des Français du Paraguay – ''Peter Fleming Un Aventurier au Brésil – Peter Fleming Un Aventurero en Brasil'' – Numéro 5 Année 1, Asunción Paraguay.
External links
A short biography provided by the University of ReadingSource for the death date of his son Nicholas Fleming at ianfleming.orgPeter Fleming's rook rifle – a correspondence*
*
Podcast talk and live bloggingat the Shanghai International Book Festival with Paul French's talk on Peter Fleming
* Paul French, "Peter Fleming
*
*
*Translated Penguin Book – a
Penguin First Editionsreference site of early first edition Penguin Books.
I.B. Taurispublishe
Fleming's ''To Peking: A Forgotten Journey from Moscow to Manchuria'' (out of stock 4/18)''News from Tartary'' and ''Bayonets to Lhasa: The British Invasion of Tibet'' also it
''A Dance with the Dragon: The Vanished World of Peking's Foreign Colony''by
Julia Boyd
Julia Boyd is a British non-fiction author.
''The Washington Post'' called ''Travellers in the Third Reich'' "riveting". It was awarded the 2018 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History.
''The Times'' called ''A Village in the Third Reich'' a "fa ...
includes Fleming among its subjects.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Peter
1907 births
1971 deaths
English travel writers
Writers about the Soviet Union
Grenadier Guards officers
Members of the Order of the British Empire
People educated at Eton College
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
People associated with the University of Reading
English people of Scottish descent
British Army personnel of World War II
Ian Fleming Publications directors
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
English male novelists
Bullingdon Club members