During World War II, Dalzel-Job commanded a team of undercover Royal Navy commandos who pulled off daring rescues under the noses of the Nazis. His commander: Ian Fleming, who later created the James Bond series of novels.
When the novels started to come out, other men in the unit immediately recognized the Bond character was inspired by Dalzel-Job, but “In contrast to a number of people who have claimed that they were the James Bond, Patrick has never made any fuss about it,” said Peter Jemmett, who was a member of Fleming’s unit.
Dalzel-Job did admit that Fleming told him that he was the model for Bond, but he wasn’t impressed. “I have never read a Bond book or seen a Bond movie,” he once told an interviewer. “They are not my style.” He added that Bond wasn’t fully modeled after him: “I only ever loved one woman, and I’m not a drinking man.” Dalzel-Job died October 12 at his home in western Scotland. He was 90.