<P> The academic Paul Stock argues that M's office is a metonym for England and a stable point from which Bond departs on a mission, whilst he sees M as being an iconic representative of England and Englishness . </P> <P> In the first post-Fleming book, Colonel Sun, M is kidnapped from Quarterdeck, his home, and Bond goes to great lengths to rescue him . The later continuation books, written by John Gardner, retain Sir Miles Messervy as M, who protects Bond from the new, less aggressive climate in the Secret Service, saying that at some point Britain will need "a blunt instrument". In Gardner's final novel, COLD, M is kidnapped and rescued by Bond and finishes the book by retiring from MI6 . Continuation Bond author Raymond Benson's 1998 novel The Facts of Death continued Messervy's retirement, where he still resides in Quarterdeck . The book also introduces a new M, Barbara Mawdsley . </P> <P> M was played by Bernard Lee from the first Bond film, Dr. No, until Moonraker (1979). In Dr. No, M refers to his record of reducing the number of operative casualties since taking the job, implying someone else held the job recently before him . The film also saw M refer to himself as head of MI7; Lee had originally said MI6, but was overdubbed with the name MI7 prior to the film's release . Earlier in the film, the department had been referred to as MI6 by a radio operator . </P> <P> A number of Bond scholars have noted that Lee's interpretation of the character was in line with the original literary representation; Cork and Stutz observed that Lee was "very close to Fleming's version of the character", while Rubin commented on the serious, efficient, no - nonsense authority figure . Smith and Lavington, meanwhile, remarked that Lee was "the very incarnation of Fleming's crusty admiral ." </P>

Who played m in the original james bond movies