Major-General Sir Richard Hannay, KCB, OBE, Legion of Honour is the fictional secret agent created by Scottish novelist, John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir. In his autobiography, Memory-Hold-the-Door, Buchan suggests that the character is based, in part, on Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron Ironside, from Edinburgh, a spy during the Second Boer War.
Source: Wikipedia