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Purdey or Polyester Tape - which do you prefer?

Posted by STEVE M on

Major, The Honourable, John Wickham Gascoyne Beresford Steed, MC, OM usually known as John Steed, is a fictional  British Intelligence agent  in both the 1960s British spy series The Avengers and its 1970s sequel The New Avengers and played by Patrick McNee.

Steed was educated at  Eton where he got into a fight with James Bond , the school bully.  After a succession of escapades which were frowned upon he was eventually expelled.
Steed went on to distinguish himself in WW2 initially serving as a Royal Navy motor torpedo boat commander before transferring to the  Coldstream Guards and thence to the Intelligence Corps.  His military career resulted in the award of the Military Cross and the rank of Major.
Steed maintained a modest  mews flat in London during the 1960s (first at 5 Westminster Mews, (later at 3 Stable Mews) and drove a variety of vintage cars including a  Rolls Royce and a several vintage Bentleys. 
Steed was known for his sartorial elegance which was characterised by a  three-piece suit  ensemble completed by a  bowler hat and umbrella which both served as  his favourite weapons. Steed's umbrella, with its distinctive whangee handle, was also a swordstick although it saw most use as  a striking and hooking weapon.  A bon vivant and gourmand with a penchant for champagne what did Steed do when The Avengers  ended in 1969 before he starred in its successor, The New Avengers in 1976.....?
Well look at this, he made tape recorders according to this 1971 advertisement!

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