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A James Bond historian has revealed that some of the Bond girls' quirky names were names of farms in Shepway and the southeast.

Graham Rye's investigation has led the 007 historian to believe Fleming's travels around his beloved Kent gave the author inspiration for characters like Miss Moneypenny and Honeychile Rider.

He 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 reports Contactmusic.com.

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

Mr Rye said: "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 bought White Cliffs Cottage near Dover from his good friend Noel Coward."

He adds, "Scrutinising the Ordnance Survey Maps of Kent, I was amazed to discover that on Romney Marsh there was in fact a Moneypenny Farm, a Honeychild Manor Farm, and a few miles away near Rye, East Sussex 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.

"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!"