LUXE Serendipity magazine

Iconic piece of film history goes on display in Buckinghamshire

A rare piece of British film history is set to take place at a museum in Buckinghamshire as the original first draft manuscript from James Bond film You Only Live Twice will be on display from Thursday 13 November at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in Great Missenden.

The screenplay, written by celebrated author Dahl, is on temporary loan and forms the centrepiece of a new display dedicated to the author’s work on the 1967 film produced by Albert Broccoli and starring Sean Connery as the British spy.
To celebrate the new exhibit, the museum is launching the display with ‘Licence to Write’- an evening event on Friday 21 November led by Head of Collections, Will Phillips.

Guests will be able to see the manuscript and learn more about the story behind the screenplay, Roald Dahl’s link to Bond creator, Ian Fleming, and Dahl’s time as a spy during World War II.

Will says: “Dahl was a close friend of Ian Fleming and was tasked with turning a first draft around in eight weeks. He drew on his experience as a fighter pilot in the Second World War and his subsequent role in espionage supplying intelligence from Washington to Prime Minister, Winston Churchill.”

“The scene in which Bond is flying autogyro Little Nellie and under fire from four SPECTRE helicopters is hugely reminiscent of Dahl’s own experience as a fighter pilot in the Battle of Athens,” explains Will. “He describes the dogfight in his autobiography Going Solo as ‘an endless blur of enemy fighters whizzing towards me from every side.’”

The museum’s archives feature over 100 boxes of Dahl’s personal possessions, and the new temporary display will include a letter from the Head of BSC (British Security Coordination) thanking him for his wartime service, a photograph of the writer on set with the film’s director Lewis Gilbert and Roald’s own souvenir 007 tie.
The display also features Dahl’s personal set of boules along with his own invention of a magnet on string which Dahl used for picking up each boule. Will explains: “Roald Dahl suffered with a bad back as a result of an injury sustained during his career as a fighter pilot which meant he struggled with everyday movement in later life. He was well known for being uniquely creative and he applied this creativity to everyday life. It’s clear to see that the same mechanism he designed for lifting his boules also appears in the film where the Japanese secret service picks up SPECTRE’s henchmen with a magnet suspended beneath the
helicopter.”

Will adds: “It’s also interesting to note that Dahl’s inventiveness comes up in his children’s books and the Bond screenplay. The suction boots which appear in his first book The Gremlins, and his last book Billy and the Minpins, also make an appearance when Sean Connery’s Bond is descending into Blofeld’s volcano lair.”
The manuscript will be on display at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre until 31 January 2026.

Will adds: “This manuscript is back in Great Missenden for the first time in almost 40 years and the first time it will be available to see at the museum. I’m thrilled we are able to share it with our guests at an event dedicated to Dahl’s work on such an iconic piece of British film history.”

Licence to Write takes place on Friday 21 November at 7pm. Online pre-booked tickets are £15.00 each. Pre-booking is essential as this event is expected to sell out quickly.

For more information, call 01494 892 192, visit http://www.roalddahlmuseum.org, or like and follow @roalddahlmuseum on Facebook and Instagram for all the latest news and updates.

How to find us

The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre is set on the High Street in Great
Missenden, Buckinghamshire and located just a few minutes’ walk from the
train station or is easily accessible by car just off the A413. Opening times are
from 10.00am – 4.30pm Tuesday to Sunday during the summer holidays. For
more information, or to book tickets, please visit the
website: https://ww.roalddahlmuseum.org