Ian Fleming's mystery code cufflinks sell at auction in Oxford

A pair of cufflinks, owned by James Bond creator Ian Fleming, and inscribed with a mystery code, have sold for nearly £6000 at auction in Oxford.

The cultured pearl set cufflinks come with the engravings: WUS, SIL, UDH and NUF.

The meaning of the code has never been explained, but the writer had a lifelong interests in ciphers and codebreaking having served in the Naval Intelligence division during World War Two.

He is thought to have worn the cufflinks at a party celebrating the release of the first Bond film, Dr No, in 1962.

They are believed to have been a one-off commission.

The cufflinks were later passed on to an Oxfordshire resident by a member of Fleming's extended family.

Their value had been estimated at £800-£1200 pounds, but they sold for £5720 at auctioneers Mallams, who said they hoped the buyer would enjoy the code-breaking mission.

Ian Fleming’s service during the Second World War, together with his experiences as a journalist, inspired much of his writing for the character of James Bond, an officer in the Secret Intelligence Service.

Bond was introduced in the 1952 novel ‘Casino Royale’ and so captured the public’s imagination that Fleming penned eleven further Bond novels, two collections of short stories with subsequent adaptations for film, television and radio.