Richard Hannay Richard Hannay Major-General Sir Richard Hannay, KCB, OBE, DSO, Legion of Honour, is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist John Buchan and further made popular by the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film "The 39 Steps" (and other later film adaptations), very loosely based on Buchan's 1915 novel of the same name. In his autobiography, "Memory Hold-the-Door", Buchan suggests that the character is based, in part, on Edmund Ironside, from Edinburgh, a spy during the Second Boer War. Hannay appears in several novels as a major character, including: He also appears as a minor character in: "The Thirty-One Kings" (2017), by
Clan Hannay Clan Hannay Clan Hannay is a Lowland Scottish clan. The Hannays are from the ancient princedom of Galloway. The name appears to have originally been spelt "Ahannay" but its origin is uncertain. It could derive from the Scottish Gaelic "O'Hannaidh" or "Ap Shenaeigh". In 1296 Gilbert de Hannethe appears on the Ragman Rolls submitting to Edward I of England. This could be the same Gilbert who acquired the lands of Sorbie. The Hannays were suspicious of Robert the Bruce's ambitions and instead supported the claim of John Balliol. Balliol was descended from the Celtic Princes of Galloway through his mother,