That was the name by which Ian Flemming referred to Sidney Cotton when they worked together in military intelligence during the Second World War. The story of Sidney Cotton is quite remarkable from his early days in Australia, learning to fly in the great war and hunting for seals in Newfoundland. From there he went on to spy for the secret service and develop aerial photography beyond what the RAF was capable of at the start of the Second World War. In the post war period, he was involved in gun running for what he believed was a noble cause in addition to being profitable!
Sidney Cotton was a remarkable man who made and lost fortunes many times over and lived a life few of us can imagine.
Views: 28 | Enquiries: 0I spent most of my working life in the telecommunications industry, starting as an apprentice, then moving into design. From there I joined the training department eventually becoming the UK Technical Training Manager for Siemens Communications. Throughout my career I enjoyed giving presentations and it was something he wanted to continue into retirement.
I've always been interested in aviation history and have had several opportunities to develop my knowledge; which including writing an interactive guide for Newark Air Museum and involvement with aviation archaeology.
After moving from Nottingham to Devon I became aware of the South West Airfields Heritage Trust, an educational charity whose purpose is to inform the public of the south-west’s aviation heritage. This is done in a number of ways, most visibly they have heritage centres at Dunkeswell and Smeatharpe, which are open to the public from Easter until the end of October. They also give talks, visit schools, hold events and look after a number of local memorials.
I have become an enthusiastic volunteer, contributing to both heritages centres and now regularly deliver talks on their behalf.
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