WEB PAGE NO. 2882 13th February 2022 BIGGLES First Picture: Biggles Book

Second Picture: Sopworth Camel

Third Picture: Biggles the flying ace

Forth Picture: Capt. Johns

I have to admit that as a youngster I could never get on with the Biggles stories James Bigglesworth, nicknamed "Biggles", is a fictional , adventurer and hero of the Biggles series of adventure books by W. E. Johns (1893–1968). Biggles made his first appearance in the story The White Fokker, published in the first issue of Popular Flying magazine and again as part of the first collection of Biggles stories, The Camels Are Coming (both 1932). Johns continued to write "Biggles books" until his death in 1968. The series eventually included nearly a hundred volumes. Biggles first appears as a teenaged "scout" (fighter) pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during WW1. He joined the RFC in 1916 at the age of 17, having conveniently "lost" his birth certificate. Biggles represents a British hero, combining professionalism with a gentlemanly air. Under the stress he develops from a hysterical youth prone to practical jokes to a calm, confident, competent leader. He is occasionally given "special" missions by the Colonel Raymond who is involved with the intelligence side of operations. Biggles is accompanied by his cousin Algernon ('Algy') Lacey and his mechanic Flight Sergeant Smyth, who accompany Biggles on his adventures after the war. Added to the team in 1935 is the teenager Ginger Hebblethwaite. W. E. Johns was himself a WW1 pilot, although his own career did not parallel that of Biggles He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in September 1917, seconded to the Royal Flying Corps and posted for flight training: he served as a flying instructor until August 1918, when he transferred to the Western Front. On 16 September 1918 his De Havilland DH4 was shot down on a bombing raid. His observer, Lieutenant Amey, was killed but he survived to be taken as a POW. He remained with the RAF until 1927: his final rank was Flying Officer rather than the "Capt." that formed part of his pen name. The bulk of the Biggles books are set after the First World War. Biggles has an unusually lengthy career, flying a number of aircraft from Sopwith Camels, Hurricanes and Spitfires in WW2 right up to the Hunter jet fighter. The books were popular and were eventually translated into Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Flemish, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish.[1] According to stories in The Boy Biggles and Biggles Goes to School, James Bigglesworth was born in India in May 1899, the son of an administrator in the Indian Civil Service and his wife (née Lacey - hence his relation to the Hon. Algernon Montgomery Lacey - his flying companion, cousin and friend in a large proportion of his adventures). James was the younger of two sons, Charles being the elder by five years. The young James had little contact with European culture and commenced a lifelong affection for India, befriending the local Indian boys, exploring the countryside and learning to speak fluent Hindi. He retained a lifetime gift for languages and as an adult spoke French and German fluently, with a "fair command" of various other languages. He spent holidays in England, under the custody of an eccentric uncle and inventor who lived in rural Norfolk. Biggles then attended Malton Hall School in Hertbury. His first encounter with an aircraft was with a Blériot that landed on the school cricket ground. Characters Algernon Montgomery Lacey The Honourable Algernon Montgomery Lacey or "Algy" is a cousin who is posted to Biggles' flight in 266 Squadron by the influence of his aunt and eventually Algy adopts the role of Biggles' second in command. Ginger Hebblethwaite Ginger (his first name is never revealed) first appears in The Black Peril (1935) as a teenage runaway found hiding in a railway shed. Ginger left his father, a mineworker in Smettleworth, after an argument about Ginger's determination to become a pilot. When he first meets Biggles, he tells him he is on his way to London to join the RAF. Biggles immediately calls him Ginger because of his red hair.. He becomes one of the regular team and is often Biggles's chosen companion. He is a talented mechanic and his speech is peppered with youthful American slang learned from the cinema. Female characters In the Biggles stories, female characters appear infrequently. Despite brief affairs, Biggles and his chums remain steadfastly single. The settings of the Biggles books are spread over more than 50 years; this produces a number of credibility difficulties, especially for older readers. Though Biggles and his friends age in the books, they do so much more slowly than is historically credible. For instance, who by now should be well into their forties, is still a relatively junior squadron officer flying Spitfires during the Battle of Britain. In the stories set after the end of the Second World War, Biggles and Algy, in particular, are, by the rules of arithmetic, passing into their fifties and early sixties, while retaining levels of activity and lifestyle more typical of people at least thirty years younger. Since the Biggles books were first published, attitudes to race and ethnicity have changed. During the 1960s and 1970s a perception of Biggles as unacceptably racially prejudiced, especially considered as children's literature, drove Biggles from many public and school libraries. Capt. Johns himself said he was "completely non-political and non-racial" in his books. Stay in touch Peter gsseditor@gmail.com