Sir Walter Bullivant Sir Walter Bullivant Sir Walter Bullivant is a fictional character created by the Scottish thriller writer John Buchan for his series of novels featuring the spy Richard Hannay. He plays small but significant roles in both "The Thirty-Nine Steps" and "Greenmantle". Sir Walter is a senior mandarin at the Foreign Office in the years leading up to World War I. He is the archetypal spymaster — gruff, acutely conscious of his duty, yet thoughtful and kindly towards those he sends into peril. In "Greenmantle", he recruits Hannay to perform a dangerous mission in the East as the Great Game heats
David Hannay (historian) David Hannay (historian) David McDowall Hannay (25 December 185329 May 1934) was an English naval historian. Hannay was born in London. His father, James Hannay, had been in the Royal Navy, but later became a journalist and novelist. David Hannay was educated at Westminster School, and then joined his father, who was British consul in Barcelona, as vice-consul. Over a period of years he wrote on naval topics in many journals and magazines. His first book was a monograph on Admiral Robert Blake, and he contributed several other works to various series of naval biographies. In addition, his interest in