Maurice during the filming of "Live & Let Die" in 1972.
Maurice William Patchett was born on the 27th of June, 1934, in Willesden, London.
He was a British driving instructor with London Transport and is best known for his stunt driving in the James Bond film “Live & Let Die”.
Following his national service with the British army, Maurice began his work life initially as a railway worker, before moving to begin his career with the London Transport office. As he became a seasoned London bus driver, he was transferred to the Chiswick Works, which had been opened in 1921 by the London Omnibus Company, to repair and redesign the fleet of buses used around the nation’s capital. This location eventually became the main site for London Transport bus maintenance and over time Maurice became of the top driving instructors. One of his special talents was his ability to control a skid with a double decker bus on soaking wet tarmac, which was no easy feat by any means!
In the latter half of 1972, his talents were duly recognised when Eon Productions descended upon the Chiswick Works in search of a driver to double for James Bond in their upcoming production “Live & let Die”. Out of the twenty drivers up for the task, Maurice came out on top and he was flown out to Jamaica to perform the stunt driving and to teach Roger Moore how to handle the bus during an exciting chase against the San Monique police. His contributions to the film remain an integral part of one of the most memorable moments in the James Bond legacy.
Following his experience on the latest 007 adventure, Maurice returned to his job as an instructor with the London Transport office at Chiswick Works and eventually became an in house PSV (Public Service Vehicle) driving examiner. After almost 32 years of service, he then became a self employed examiner before retiring six months later due to medical issues. He went on to enjoy his retirement, spending time with his family and enjoying his hobbies of fishing and playing the odd game of golf.
Maurice Patchett sadly passed away on the 17th of April, 2000, aged just 65.
In "Live & Let Die", Maurice Patchett was hired to perform the stunt driving with the double decker bus during the chase sequence in San Monique.
Maurice performed the handbrake turn on the highway out of Lucea, Jamaica, as well as performing some of the more aggressive sequence, including the decapitation of the top deck of the bus by the bridge which was built by the production.
He was also tasked to teach Roger Moore how to drive and handle the bus.
The amazing collection of signed items below are from the personal estate of Maurice Patchett.
The first item is his original passport, hand signed and annotated. This was the very passport that Maurice used to travel to Jamaica in November of 1972 to film "Live & Let Die". The second photo is the stamp from when he landed on the 17th of November, 1972.
The third item is Maurice's original London Transport identification card.
The final document on display is his original 'Unit List' from the production. He has hand written his name on the top right section.
Maurice received double pay for his time on "Live & Let Die", which was around £70 per week, plus all of his travel and expenses paid for.
Following the completion of the production, he was personally invited to Pinewood by Cubby Broccoli for the crew screening, as well as being offered the choice to take home a selection of production stills. These wonderful stills are now proudly displayed in the gallery section of The Bond Archives, courtesy of the Patchett family.
The bus was an original 1947 AEC Regent III double decker bus, which was taken from the London Transport number 19 route through Battersea. It was repainted by the art department to the colour seen in the film.
The Bond Archives has the honour of preserving many of Maurice's personal items including his passport, his transport I.D., all of his original call sheets and several production documents.
While Maurice performed the dangerous stunts during the bus chase, Roger Moore did in fact drive the bus for many of the sequence shown on film. It should also be noted that Jane Seymour was also present in the back of the bus during much of the chase.
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