Ian Fleming's James Bond shared his name and his family motto, “The world is not enough”, with a real-life Elizabethan spy, according to a journal recording the exploits of the original Bond which has recently been transcribed by his descendants.

They believe Fleming borrowed key elements of their story for his fictional character.

The name James Bond, according to Fleming's account, was taken from the author of a bird book he kept at his Jamaican retreat. But there was another family called Bond who had their country seat in Dorset, a few miles from Durnford House, the prep school where Fleming spent an unhappy few years of his childhood.

Their ancient family motto is “Orbis non sufficit”, which is first introduced as James Bond's family motto in the book On Her Majesty's Secret Service. It was later used as the title of a Bond film starring Pierce Brosnan.

William Bond, the current head of the family, had his ancestor's journal transcribed after rediscovering it in the family archives. He says Fleming would certainly have been aware of the family and its unusual motto but was unlikely to have heard of his secret agent's namesake, John Bond, who spied for Sir Francis Drake.

The journal recording significant events in family history was written by Denis Bond, John's eldest son. In 1573 John Bond was in Rouen, Normandy, where he narrowly escaped the St Bartholomew's Day massacres by using questionable tactics. The journal records how he was “miraculously preserved” by taking the wife and children of his French host on to the roof of their house. He held them hostage for “certain days vowing that if they did medell with the English, they would kill the wyfe & chi: & soe were saved”. Later Bond pops up in the Azores and Cádiz, Spain, shortly before they were pillaged by Drake's ships.

William Bond believes his ancestor was spying for Drake and bought his estate with profits from the raids.

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