'James Bond' 1966 mystery message solved as Jersey soldier's descendants come forward

Edward Arnold Blampied was a James Bond fan and his daughters also remember him placing messages in bottles within the walls of their family home as it was being built. Credit: Blampied family / Jersey Heritage

The mystery of a message in a bottle found after almost 60 years has been solved following a public appeal for information.

Jersey Heritage says it is "very confident" that the note dated 1966 and discovered behind a bricked-up fireplace at Elizabeth Castle was left by Edward Arnold Blampied.

Addressed to "007 JAMES BOND", Edward's daughters Annelis Michel and Debbie Blampied have come forward to share that their late father was a big fan of the fictional spy and also enjoyed writing secret notes.

During the building of their family home, they remember him hiding messages in bottles and other mementoes within the house's walls.

The letter found in the castle's fireplace. Credit: Jersey Heritage

Edward was born in Jersey in 1937 and signed up for the Royal Signal Corps in the British Army aged 17.

He received recognition for active service during the Cyprus Emergency and was posted to Iraq before returning to the island to work as a carpenter.

This was when he built the wooden stairways inside the Officers' Quarters where the note was recently found.

Edward cannot confirm he was the author as he died in 1984 due to complications from a long illness but Jersey Heritage is confident it has the right man after comparing handwriting samples and his history.

Coincidentally, one of Edward's grandsons currently works at the castle on building renovations, carrying on his grandfather's work.