Finding a message in a bottle is fun for everyone. Recently, workers discovered an odd message in Elizabeth Castle on the coast of France. Workers found the note in a fireplace while renovating the first-floor officer’s quarters. The fireplace was sealed initially in 1966, coinciding with the note’s date. The front of the note reads, “007 JAMES BOND / 26th Feb 1966. / P.S. SECRET AGENT. / DON’T TELL ANYBODY.”
During the castle restoration, Jersey Heritage (JH) discovered the bottle encased in concrete in the fireplace. A signature on the back of the note, E A Blampied, provides the only clue. There were also several pages of a weekly newspaper, the Reveille, dated February 23, 1966.
Historic buildings officer Harvey Doolan initially thought that the signature might have been that of Edmund Blampied, a local Jersey artist. Although intriguing, the well-known artist passed away in August 1966. He would have been 79 years old when the note was placed in the fireplace. That makes it doubtful that the artist was the person who stowed the mystery note in the bottle.
Who Was James Bond?
Almost everyone knows the name of James Bond. He is a fictional secret agent who first appeared in the works of author Ian Fleming in 1953. Fleming wrote twelve novels and several short stories about the character before he died in 1964. The iconic heartthrob has been immortalized in more than two dozen films.
The James Bond movie Thunderball was available in theaters two months before the date on the note. However, there is no known connection between the film’s release and the note. Many actors have portrayed the secret agent, including Roger Moore, Sean Connery (pictured above), George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, David Niven, and Daniel Craig (pictured above).
Is There A Connection To Elizabeth Castle?
Is the message possibly implying that the artist was the secret agent? With no corroborating information, who can say? JH has requested assistance from the public via an Instagram plea. Their only hope to decipher the meaning of the James Bond note is if someone familiar with it comes forward. If anyone knows how it got into the fireplace in Elizabeth Castle, we hope they respond with information. If you enjoyed this little mystery, please share it.
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here and here (inlay).
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