James Bond historian Graham Rye has revealed that some of the Bond girls' names were inspired by the names of farms in southeast England.

Rye spent years studying maps of the county of Kent, where Bond author Ian Fleming lived, and discovered that Fleming used the countryside, pubs and buildings as settings for story segments.

Once when Fleming was asked how he created his heroines, he said, "I go out into Romney Marsh and hope to find one there."

"While this may sound rather fanciful, it was something that lingered in my memory from that day forward. Ian Fleming loved the Kent countryside. He purchased White Cliffs Cottage in Dover from his good friend Noel Coward," says Rye.

Rye found out that Fleming's travels around Kent inspired him for characters like Moneypenny and Honeychile Rider.

"Scrutinising the maps of Kent, I was amazed to discover that on Romney Marsh there was in fact a Moneypenny Farm and a Honeychild Manor Farm. A few miles away, was The Hammonds Country Hotel. The Hammonds were the married couple who acted as housekeepers for M, the head of British intelligence and 007's chief," he added.

"Suddenly, I could picture Ian Fleming running an eyeglass over the maps of the area with a wry smile while looking for another input for his James Bond novels. Coincidentally, there's even a small village near Staple called Flemings," he exclaimed.