'Mysterious' 1966 note from 'secret agent' discovered inside a bottle in centuries-old castle

People often scribble on walls of famous monuments or tuck away pieces of paper with messages on it for the sake of fun and amusement. But it looks like someone has taken this activity up a notch and has left a mysterious note addressed to the iconic fictional spy, James Bond. According to the Jersey Heritage, a strange note scribbled on an old piece of paper was retrieved from Elizabeth Castle in Jersey that mentioned the name of the British secret agent who works for the MI6.

Jersey Heritage shared the picture of the handwritten note on their official Instagram page, detailing the story behind it. "We need your help to shed light on a mysterious note that was discovered when a fireplace was unblocked on the first floor of the Officers' Quarters at Elizabeth Castle," they wrote in the caption, alongside the image, informing about the humorous note that was left behind by a certain E.A Blampied and bears the date February 26, 1966. It reads, "007 JAMES BOND / 26th Feb 1966. / P.S. SECRET AGENT. / DON'T TELL ANYBODY." Along with the weird note, there were 15-18 pages of the weekly "Reveille" newspaper from February 23 of the same year.

According to PEOPLE, the note was unearthed by some people working in the Officers' Quarters as part of Phase One of Jersey Heritage's restoration project at the Castle. They were also working to renovate the Victorian Military Hospital. The restoration project was overseen by their archaeology team to minimize any kind of damage to the age-old fabrics in the buildings. But the mystery of the note left by this fellow named Blampied has not been solved yet and the Jersey Heritage seeks help from people on the internet to help them reach the bottom of this suspenseful note.

Historic buildings officer Harvey Doolan spoke to BBC and guessed that the person who signed on the note as E.A. Blampied could be a well-known Jersey artist, Edmund Blampied. Doolan called it "quite an eclectic mix to find." He figured that the writer of the note was a big fan of the super spy. "However, he was 79-years-old at that point in time and he passed away in the August of that year, so we thought it was possibly unlikely that he was shoving bottles into fireplaces at Elizabeth Castle," Doolan told the outlet. According to Art UK, Blampied was well known for his watercolor, wash and oil paintings and was considered a "noted etcher, with a fine, swirling line," who has work featured in multiple British and foreign art collections.

Doolan also mentioned that the bottle containing the note would have been hidden in the fireplace during a restoration project by the public's work committee and that the fireplace in question was likely the last to be blocked. "All the others had been blocked between probably 1923 and 1946 as we found cigarette packets from the period and German ammunition," he stated. The picture shared by Jersey Heritage on their Instagram was reportedly surrounded by concrete and stone and was placed inside the standard fireplace. "Unfortunately, the glass bottle was damaged but the note would have been a message in a bottle," Jersey Heritage further shared on their X handle, @JerseyHeritage while adding a few more pictures of the location.