The adventures of ‘Biggles’

He was the main character in a series of adventure books written for young readers by W. E. Johns. Biggles first appears as a World War I Royal Flying Corps pilot in the 1932 story “The White Fokker,” published in Popular Flying magazine. Through 98 books, Biggles survived the Great War, flew aerial adventures in the interwar years, joined the Royal Air Force to again battle the Germans during World War II, and then became an “air detective” in the 1960s. Biggles was the archetype of the British hero of that era, combining competency and daring with honor and chivalry.

Author William Earl Johns was himself a World War I pilot. After fighting in the trenches, he was commissioned a lieutenant in 1917 and sent to England for flight training. Johns served as an instructor until August 1918 when he was deployed to the Western Front. As with many wartime pilots, his career didn’t last long. On September 16, 1918, his airplane was shot down during a raid over Germany and Johns was taken prisoner. After the war, Johns remained with the Royal Air Force (formed in 1918) and published his first novel under the pen name William Earle. In 1932, Johns left the RAF to become a full-time aviation journalist and founder of Popular Flying magazine. In August, Biggles first appeared in the magazine and then in a compilation of Biggles stories, The Camels are Coming, a reference to the Sopwith Camel airplane. At first, the Biggles stories were credited to Johns’ pen name, but later to “Capt. W.E. Johns” until his death in 1968.

Biggles’ adventures spanned more than 50 years, which created some timeline difficulties. Biggles and his friends age with the stories, but slowly. In The Camels Are Coming, Biggles conveniently “loses” his birth certificate in order to join the RFC at age 17. He not only survives aerial combat but grows from a callow youth into a trusted leader. His war exploits often include another pilot, his cousin Algy, and his mechanic, Sergeant Smyth. Additional World War I books include Biggles of the Camel Squadron and Biggles Flies East.

During the interwar period, Biggles finds adventure as a freelance charter pilot flying an amphibious aircraft he calls the Vandal. Biggles in the South Seas and Biggles in Africa give some idea of the plots.

When World War II breaks out, Biggles returns to fly in the Battle of Britain and becomes the commander of a special duties squadron. The new squadron comes with new characters, including an American, Tex, and new aircraft for Biggles to fly, such as the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Typhoon. Biggles Defies the Swastika, Spitfire Parade, and Biggles Sweeps the Desert are a few titles that recount his World War II exploits.

After Biggles’ second war, he’s hired by Scotland Yard as the leader of the Special Air Police, which pursues criminals who have absconded by airplane. These adventures take him across Great Britain and around the world and include titles such as Biggles and the Missing Millionaire and Biggles and the Gun Runners. By the time of the last complete book, Biggles Sees Too Much, our hero would have been nearly 70, but he continues at a pace more appropriate for younger men.

Each Biggles book lists numerous aircraft he flies, classics such as the de Havilland Gipsy Moth, Gloster Gladiator, Handley Page Hastings, Percival Proctor, Bristol Beaufighter, Hawker Hurricane, and Supermarine Spitfire. In his lengthy flying career, Biggles progresses from a fabric biplane to the Hawker Hunter jet fighter that he flies in Biggles in the Terai.

A Biggles television series was produced in the 1960s and a ridiculous science fiction film with a time travel plot in 1986. Biggles was parodied numerous times by various artists in novels, plays and songs. The best may be when “Cardinal Biggles,” wearing a flying helmet and goggles, appeared in Monty Python’s “Spanish Inquisition” sketch.

More respectfully, Biggles was honored with a Royal Mail stamp in 1994. Johns died while writing the unfinished Biggles Does Some Homework in which Biggles finally prepares to retire after a long and adventuresome career in aviation. Good chap, Biggles.