The Imperial War Museum in London is staging an Exhibition celebrating the centenary of the birth of the most famous spy novel and film author Ian Fleming and his creation James Bond 007:
For Your Eyes Only
Ian Fleming and James Bond
17 April 2008 - 1 March 2009To celebrate the centenary of Ian Fleming's birth, Imperial War Museum London is producing the first major exhibition devoted to the life and work of the man who created the world's most famous secret agent, James Bond.
Featuring fascinating material, much on public display for the first time, For Your Eyes Only will look at the author and his fictional character in their historical context and examine how much of the Bond novels were imaginary and how far they were based on real people and events. This exhibition will explore the early life of Ian Fleming, his wartime career and work as a journalist and travel writer and how, as an author, he drew upon his own experiences to create the iconic character of James Bond that continues to have global appeal.
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For Your Eyes Only will show how Fleming's wartime experiences informed the Bond plots and inspired many of the iconic heroes and villains, such as M and Goldfinger, and how the Cold War, a war of spies and technology, provided the stage in which Bond could operate. The exhibition will examine to what extent the books and films reflect the reality of the Cold War and life in post-war Britain and how far they were a product of Fleming's prodigious imagination.
It will conclude with Fleming's legacy, exploring how one man's idea generated an entire industry, not only books and films, but also parodies, toys, games and clothes. Over fifty years after his first appearance in print, James Bond continues to exert a grip on the global imagination and Fleming remains a classic writer of his generation.
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Adults £8.00, Concessions and Groups £7.00, Children £4.00, Family £19.00 (Groups pre-booking essential on 020 7416 5439 or groups@iwm.org.uk)
For further information contact: Victoria Smith Press Officer, Imperial War Museum London, 020 7416 5497, vsmith@iwm.org.uk www.iwm.org.uk
What is the first known or cited usage of the directive language "For Your Eyes Only" in foreign or enemy intelligence matters?
From whom (or what agency or Secretariat) and for whom was it first known to have been used?
Did the commonality of such directive become debased in importance over time by overusage?
The implication in such phrase is that the level of secrecy and importance of the report is higher than a marking TOP SECRET; or that if such was not used for foreign or enemy intelligence matters of military importance, then its contents may have been of personal "watch your six" nature about schemes or actions developing or underway from competing or antagonistic persons or organizations. Was it so?
Elaborate and define upon the phrase FOR YOUR EYES ONLY and cite historical uses.
Be of good heart.
James Culp
culpusa@aol.com
@ James - was this some sort of homework assignment ?
Sorry, I cannot help you much with the history of such secrecy classification schemes.
There always have been project based security classifications on a "Need To Know" basis i.e. someone with "Top Secret" clearance, does not automatically get to see all of the details of every "Top Secret" project.
The US military call this Compartmented or Code Word classified information.
The recent scandal in the UK involving the
Top Secret Joint Intelligence Committee current intelligence assessments left on a train
involved documents which were Protectively marked as UK TOP SECRET STRAP2 CAN/AUS/UK/US EYES ONLY which is an example of a slightly wider "Eyes Only" classification.
Most Government secrecy is about protecting the careers of some of the bureaucrats and politicians, by hiding their incompetence or malice or corruption, rather than actually protecting the lives of the general public.