The Amazing Mr Cotton by Brian Fernley

That was the name by which Ian Flemming referred to Sidney Cotton when they worked together in military intelligence during the Second World War. The story of Sidney Cotton is quite remarkable from his early days in Australia, learning to fly in the great war and hunting for seals in Newfoundland. From there he went on to spy for the secret service and develop aerial photography beyond what the RAF was capable of at the start of the second world war. In the post war period, he was involved in gun running for what he believed was a noble cause in addition to being profitable!