The Imperial War Museum's excellent Ian Fleming exhibition celebrates the life and work of the Bond creator and even delves into the murky world of cold war espionage to show that true stories about spying can sometimes be more exciting than fiction. Our museum spy trails use the insight of someone who really was involved in intelligence matters.
Many years ago writer Gavin Greenwood spent some time on the fringes of the secret world: "This narrative does not correspond to an actual event, but its components are drawn from incidents and counter-intelligence operations," he says.
Most of what went on in our capital in the 'Fifties and 'Sixties can never be revealed, so Greenwood has developed a fictional narrative based on real events, complete, he adds, with "some in-jokes for those still in the trade."
It was during the last world war that London rapidly established itself as a spy city with a myriad of secret locations relating to the intelligence community. SOE, SIS, MI5 and MI6 all occupied a series of top secret sites across the city, most famously in Baker Street, where the Special Operations Executive set about the business of combating the Nazi threat.
Today, the Cold War may be over and the perceived Soviet threat has been partly replaced by newer threats of subversion and terrorism, but the intelligence community continues to thrive.
The huge HQ buildings of MI5 and MI6 on either side of the Thames at Westminster remain potent reminders of the importance of the secret service.
And unlike Russia and the USA, where established national museums deal proudly with the history of subterfuge in the cold war, the business of spying remains a cloaked and secretive business.
But how did it all happen? Who were these men and women? What were they doing? How did they achieve their aims? Where can you see a dead letter drop, or where Kim Philby lived? Which museums hold items from the dark and secret past?
