Do you have something to share with the readers of Gateway about Biggles or Capt. W E Johns? Let's make Gateway a repository for information on Biggles, that not-very-well-known boys' adventure hero from the last century.

Nowadays the first place to look for information on absolutely anything is the web. That said, I was struck by the dearth of information on Captain W E Johns' fictional fighter pilot hero and all-round adventurer, Biggles, or James Bigglesworth, to give him his full name. There's a site that shows some of the book covers, though not the latest excellent ones from Red Fox (Random House). There's a Biggles International site run by the Dutch who seem to think Biggles was a real person. And that's about it, really. The BBC's H2g2 has an article on Biggles, but most of the other references are to books that are available to buy from various online sources. If you dig deep enough, you'll find the eight-page adventure by artist Ron Embleton for a TV Annual in the 1980s.

If you know who publishes the Biggles book now, you'll find the covers for the Red Fox editions that are still in print. Unlike Dan Dare and Roy of the Rovers, those other two stalwarts of English juvenile literature, Biggles remains fairly elusive. There are a couple of excellent articles by James Mackenzie, which have been in the Gateway archive for several years, and which I'm reprinting in this issue, along with an article by Bettina Chen about Algy. But Biggles is deserving of his own cult following. That other repository of information, the BBC, turns up a news item dated 2000 that says Biggles is to be revived as the new all-action hero of the new century – but it didn't happen. Maybe the same people who have been promising us a film of JohnCarter of Mars are also involved in a new Biggles movie. In 2003 Red Fox republished a substantial number of Biggles novels to commemorate the centenary of Johns' birth - below are the first eight titles - all are still in print, along with several others, best prices, as always, are from the online bookstores.

A look at Biggles reveals a series of ninety-eight high-adventure novels, some set in WWI and WWII, but the majority outside of those two conflicts and more akin to Indiana Jones than 633 Squadron. Biggles books were published right through the heart of the twentieth century, yet while most children know about Enid Blyton, few know about Biggles and his creator, Capt. W E Johns. Let me tell you about my knowledge of Biggles, starting with a look back to the last years of the 1950s, when I was eleven years old.

It would have been 1958 or even maybe 1959. I was on holiday in Ramsgate – we went every year for two weeks during the summer holidays. There was a newsstand on the promenade, and after breakfast, whilst my parents were getting ready, I'd wander down to see if the latest BIGGLES comic was available. I bought every issue, and I didn't want to miss one, it was as simple as that, I couldn't bear to think I might miss a copy of my third favourite comic, after TIGER and LION.

Trouble was, I could pick them up easily at home, because I worked for the local newsagent, marking the newspapers for delivery before school, occasionally taking out a round when a paperboy didn't turn up. So I was always able to be first, so to speak, able to pick up the titles I wanted when they came in. I hadn't thought to reserve a copy of the latest Biggles, which was monthly, so I desperately needed to be at the newsstand the day it came in, because it was so popular. Someone might get there before me. I had all the books, of course, and I listened to the radio series, but the comic was always special. It's a vivid memory, and I remember also the elation when I got there one morning and found my Biggles comic.

I guess I'm no different to any other baby boomer – I loved comics, I loved listening to the radio, I loved the cinema, and I adored my books. Some books, some comics, some characters were special. Tarzan, Robin Hood, King Arthur – and Biggles – Sergeant Bigglesworth, as I first encountered him. I can't find any reference to the monthly comic from the late 1950s anywhere on the web, but I know it existed, and I'd buy it again like a shot. But I guess I'll have to make do with the books, recently republished by Red Fox (Random House) and illustrated by the great David Frankland, and the compendium of four Biggles adventures published last month by nostalgia experts Carlton/Prion. Biggles remains one of the great cultural icons of twentieth century children's literature, with thirty-odd titles published two years ago by Red Fox to commemorate the centenary of Capt. W E Johns, who wrote nearly one hundred Biggles titles, along with many other books about Worrals and Gimlet, together with a children's science fiction series.

Johns was born in Bengeo, Hertfordshire, and his writing bears the hallmarks of someone brought up with an unblinkered idea of what was right and wrong, and an unflinching measure of who or what made a villain. In common with Enid Blyton, Jonhs' books were at one time withdrawn from library shelves in the UK on the grounds of race discrimination, and the use of terms like "Hun" and "Boche" to describe the Nazis of WWII. Quite ridiculous, in retrospect, as was the withdrawal of Blyton's Noddy books with their Golliwogs. Good, wholesome adventures, with black and white villains and goodies, nothing contentious, no sex, very little romance, though we know that Biggles had various lady friends through his career.

The series' bad press isn't surprising – the PC Do-Gooders (my favourite people) seized on anything that looked even the tiniest bit racist, and Biggles has many references to a hatred of anything to do with the German people, of course. Yet, thousands of war picture libraries carried the same messages throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In any case, how can you denounce something that was written at a time when anything beyond the UK, which stood for everything that was right in the world, was viewed with suspicion? Look at all the Bunter books that have racism throughout – Okay, so they're not generally available, and weren't available for much of the time after they were first published, but there are many other examples of people hating the Germans and the Japanese for their part in WWII atrocities, and we shouldn't judge people for how they felt during and after the war about Hitler and the Nasties. It's like anything else – you have to trust your own judgment. If you feel something is wrong, and you're generally speaking a right-thinking person, then you're pretty safe to think that it is wrong. That doesn't mean you should shout about it – those days are gone, the PC Do-Gooders have seen to that, though my gut feeling on them is that their days are numbered, and there will soon be a revolution against political correctness. I don't hate the Germans – there were good Germans during the war and there were incredibly bad ones. I've never let anything I read determine how I should feel about a people. I don't hate the Japanese. I don't agree with everything they do, and I remain aware that they and the Germans committed some of the worst offences against their brother men ever to be encountered in our world history. But it doesn't mean they're all bad. If anything, books like the Biggles books should help to focus the mind on the individuals that actually committed these war crimes, and you should be able to see through Johns' apparent hatred of the axis countries with some ease.

The Biggles books were not completed in chronological order, however it is possible to string together a satisfactory timeline of the life and times of our hero, obviously starting with Biggles at school. After that, he comes from France as a member of the Royal Flying Corps, where he is trained by Mahoney to become a skilled pilot. Through succeeding adventures he meets up with the characters who will accompany him through the series: Air Commodore Raymond, Lord Lissie (Bertie), Algernon Lacey, his cousin and a Rt. Hon., and Ginger Hebblethwaite, who displays enormous skills with motor engines when they first meet and take him under their wing, later rising to the rank of Flight Sergeant. After WWI they undertake a series of adventures in the Indiana Jones mould. The good guys are always clearly distinguishable from the baddies, and the latter always get what they deserve.

WWII sees Biggles recalled to the RAF, where the adventures come thick and fast, though some of the escapades are a little unbelievable, though thoroughly wholesome and enjoyable. After the war, Biggles and his companions are drafted into a new Airborne Police service, once again under Commodore Raymond. These are generally recognised as the better of the novels.

The archetypal British stiff upper lip pervades the Biggles books from the first to the last, which is one of the reasons it was lampooned by Monty Python – but they are first-class children's entertainment, and still having something to offer. Johns was the obvious step-up from Blyton, before the transition to the more adult Saint, Toff and Inspector West series and the black magic shenanigans of Dennis Wheatley. It was a natural progression, but when you look at some of the recent Red Foxes and those from the 1990s, you see a succession of Indiana Jones-type adventures. The film released in 1986 was a massive flop, though the DVD is about to be re-released this month. It was a missed opportunity. A straight Biggles film would have been so much better, and would have enhanced the reputation of a much-maligned character. There was never anything wrong with Biggles. True, Johns relied heavily on the "in the one bound he was free" phraseology that nowadays raises a laugh or two, but for the most part it's good, solid adventure with a very strong moral tale underlying, and that can only be a good thing. The remainder of this article is reprinted From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

James Bigglesworth, better known in flying circles as "Biggles", is a fictional pilot and adventurer created by W. E. Johns.

He first appeared in the story "The White Fokker", published in the first issue of Popular Flying magazine, in 1932. The first collection of Biggles stories, The Camels are Coming, was published that same year.

Biggles history

In his first appearance, Biggles was a scout (fighter) pilot in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) during World War I. He joined the RFC in 1916 at the young age of 17, having conveniently "lost" his birth certificate. The original Biggles stories were based on Johns' experience — and stories he had heard from other pilots — during his time in France. (Johns, unlike Biggles did not fly scouts; he was in a bomber squadron.) Biggles was supposedly based on Cyril Lowe. While the purpose of the Biggles stories was to entertain young men, Johns paid attention to historical detail and helped recreate the primitive days of early air combat — when most pilots died in their first combat and before devices such as respirators and parachutes had become practical. Throughout his career, Biggles flew a number of planes which almost delineate the early history of British military aviation, from Sopwith Camels during World War I to Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires in World War II.

Early life

According to the John Pearson's work "Biggles - the Authorised Biography" the name Bigglesworth started out as an attempt to anglisise the Flemish surname Beiggelschwarz the surname of a Dutch ancestor who had settled in Aberdeen in the 18th century.

James Bigglesworth was born in India sometime in May 1899, the son of John Henry Bigglesworth, an administrator in the Indian Civil Service and Catherine Bigglesworth (nee Lacey) the daughter of the Governor of Bengal. James was the younger of two sons, Charles being the elder by 5 years. Biggles grew up with little contact with European culture, starting a lifelong affection for India, befriending the local Indian boys, exploring the countryside and learning to speak fluent Hindi.

Holidays in England were spent with his eccentric uncle, inventor and former Brigadier General 'Bonzo' Bigglesworth, in rural Norfolk.

He then attended Malton Hall school in Hertbury, England. His first encounter with an aircraft was with a Bleriot that force landed on the school cricket pitch.

War Service

Biggles left school and initially joined the army as a subaltern in the Rifle Regiment in 1916. He transferred to the RFC and learned to fly in the summer of 1916, at No. 17 Flying Training School, which was at Settling, in Norfolk, flying solo after two hours of instruction. He then attended No. 4 'School of Fighting' in Frensham, Lincolnshire.

Posted to France with just 15 hours solo, he first flew in combat in September 1916 with 169 Squadron, RFC, (commanded by Major Paynter). His observer was another youth named Mark Way, a New Zealander. Biggles began flying the FE2 "pusher", and later the Bristol F2B. In late summer 1917, he was transferred to the fictional 266 Squadron RFC, commanded by a Dubliner, Major Mullen. With 266 Squadron, Biggles flew the Sopwith Pup and the famed Sopwith Camel. A study of the short stories featuring his World War I exploits, suggests that he claimed at least 32 kills, and was shot down or crash-landed eight times. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, and the Military Cross and bar.

Special Air Police

Later stories told of Biggles' adventures after the war, as a charter pilot of an unidentified amphibian (often illustrated on covers, anachronistically, as either a Supermarine Walrus or Supermarine Sea Otter), his return to service in World War II (initially with a Supermarine S6B type machine in the Baltic) and then as Commanding Officer of 666 Squadron, RAF, a Special Duties squadron sent around the world on specific assignments. Several collections of stories detailed further adventures in peacetime; others filled in his equally adventurous childhood in India and the story of how he came to join the RFC, flying with New Zealand observer Mark Way in an FE2 before he converted to scouts. Biggles' first post-war action saw him in the African desert with new twin-engined types (possibly Bristol Brigand and de Havilland Hornet).

Biggles has a small team of friends including his cousin Algy (the Hon. Algernon Lacey), Ginger (Hebblethwaite) and Bertie (Lord Bertie Lissie), who share many of his adventures as pilots in the Special Air Police which they form after World War II, flying Auster and Percival types, under the command of Air Commodore Raymond, who is at this time an Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard.

Biggles' greatest opponent is the German spy officer Erich von Stalhein. They first meet when Biggles acts as a spy in the Middle East, where Biggles has some narrow escapes. Von Stalhein returns as an adversary in numerous other adventures. Following World War II, von Stalhein enters the services of the Communist bloc, until he gets imprisoned on the isle of Sakhalin, from where Biggles helps him escape (in Biggles buries a Hatchet, 1958). After this, Stalhein and Biggles are friends.

Johns continued writing Biggles short stories and novels up until his death in 1968; in all, nearly 100 Biggles books were published.

Female characters

In the Biggles stories, there are several females and love affairs. However, despite brief affairs, Biggles and his chums remain steadfastly single. Biggles suffered a disappointment in World War I, when he fell in love with German spy Marie Janis in the short story "Affaire de Coeur" (set in 1918); he later rescues her from East Germany in Biggles Looks Back.

In Biggles Fails to Return (published in 1943), Ginger falls in love with the sister of the French pilot who has flown Biggles into France on a secret mission, and at the end of the story Ginger gets to spend several weeks in her company while awaiting transport back to England.

There is a documented discussion of the issue of Biggles, sex and alcohol in By Jove, Biggles: The Life of Captain W.E. Johns (1981) by Peter Berresford Ellis and Piers Williams.

In the 1950s, a popular Australian radio version of Biggles was made under licence to Johns. Johns did not write the scripts and apparently ended the contract after receiving complaints from young readers that the storyline had made Biggles "go soft" by taking up a blonde female lover! Because most of the popularity of Biggles was with children, he was unable to include sexual storylines which bored them. (When the early World War I-based Biggles books were reprinted for children, book publishers also edited a case of "whisky" to a case of "lemonade" bottles, resulting in absurd episodes of squadrons risking their lives for a prize of fizzy pop).

Another female character appears in the form of Worrals, eponymous heroine of a related series of books featuring this resourceful and "plucky" member of the WAAF. (A further Johns creation, the commando Captain Lorrington King, nicknamed "Gimlet" also features in a series of books that intersect with Biggles at times. His regular colleagues are Corporal Albert Edward Collson, nicknamed "Copper" (he is an ex-policeman), Private "Trapper" Troublay, and Nigel Norman Peters, nicknamed "Cub".)

Criticism and controversies

Though Biggles and his friends age in the books, they do so more slowly than appears historically credible. The books somewhat obviously chronicle developments in aviation technology and also social changes. In an early book, the evidence points to an English nobleman as the perpetrator, but Biggles can dismiss this out of hand as the gentry would never commit a crime; in a later novel, one of the gentry is the villain.

Biggles books have been satirised for their archaic use of language, notably terms such as "opined" and "ejaculated" and the use of what were thought to be racial stereotypes and characterisations (Germans are often referred to as "the Hun", for example). During the 1960s there was a reaction against what was perceived as a right-wing 'imperial mentality' in Britain; this led to the books being removed from most British libraries, a move which has been later derided as a classic example of political correctness, since attitudes in the books can be seen as typical of the time in which they were written, and all of the accusations of right-wing racial bias are groundless. Nevertheless, some of the descriptions of the "natives" encountered in the books are likely to rise some eyebrows today.

Written for children, the stories contain no strong swearing and no explicit sexual content, but alcohol is mentioned occasionally and cigarettes are much in evidence. Assumed British values of bravery, honesty and fair play are stressed, and Johns' accusers (few of whom had even read the books) had to resort to extreme manipulation of the texts in order to condemn them.

There are a number of positive non-white characters in the books, from the Oxford-educated Chinaman, Li Chi, in Biggles Flies Again and the perky Polynesian girl, Full Moon, in Biggles In The South Seas, to the Indian man set to inherit Biggles' job in Biggles Does Some Homework, Johns' multiracial characters challenge his critics' expectations. Biggles himself was brought up in India, speaks fluent Hindi, and has a number of Indian friends and colleagues; he asserts to Colonel Raymond, in Biggles Delivers the Goods, that he has "always tried to be decent to all men, regardless of race, nationality, colour or creed", and a message in the books, often delivered with heavy-handed emphasis, is that readers should endeavour to do likewise.

The stories have their dark side, with Biggles setting out on at least one occasion with "red mist", inspired by the death of a comrade. They also touch on the emotional strain of combat, with Johns often describing Biggles as a "highly-strung" fidgeting, pale youth lacking in a sense of humour. The later World War I stories can be read as implying that Biggles was suffering from combat fatigue and stress.

The inter-war books are reasonably typical of boys' adventure literature of the time, and similar plots and characterisations could be found in comics and books of other genres. The Cruise of the Condor (1933), for example, is representative of this period. By the time of the Second World War, the characterisations and some plot devices had clearly dated, but their popularity was assured, perhaps by a public desire for reminders of past success, and by the way "The Few" caught the popular imagination. Post-war Biggles books often feel anachronistic, but the character's adventures with the fictitious Special Air Police do provide numerous well-written short stories, some of which stand the test of time.

Biggles in later popular culture

Many of the Biggles books are out of print, but Red Fox is reprinting many of the titles. The books are a common target for collectors, with some titles fetching high prices, especially the handful that were deleted before being reprinted into paperback. The rarest title, Biggles and the Deep Blue Sea, has been known to fetch $1,000 on eBay.

Biggles was parodied in a series of skits on the 1970s British comedy television show, Monty Python's Flying Circus, including one titled "Biggles Dictates a Letter". In the sketch, Biggles behaves in a naive and overreactive manner about the sexual orientation of his fellow comrades; shooting Algy in the process. "Cardinal Biggles", complete with flying helmet and goggles, assists in the interrogations in the Spanish Inquisition sketch. Text stories in the "Papperbok" included "Biggles Flies Undone". There have been many other references to the character in film and literature. The fictional title Biggles Flies Undone was mentioned in the "Biggles Dictates a Letter" Monty Python's episode, but was never actually produced. In the first Comic Relief, Michael Palin read the skit "Biggles Goes to See Bruce Springsteen". In Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl, a customer in The Bookshop Sketch, also found on their Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album, requests a fictious title, "Biggles Combs his Hair".

In 2005, the British television show Doctor Who created a Biggles-based character called Captain Jack, for the episode "The Empty Child". The Captain had adopted the persona of an RAF volunteer, and had a friend called Algy; a nod to W.E. Johns' creation.

Biggles appeared in a short-lived 1960 TV series based on the books with Neville Whiting playing the title role.

He was also featured in a 1986 feature film called Biggles: Adventures in Time, directed by John Hough with Neil Dickson in the title role. The film attempted to add appeal to the character by adding a science fiction element, but it was a commercial and critical failure. Dickson reprised the character in all but name, in the Pet Shop Boys' feature film, It Couldn't Happen Here.

An Unauthorised Biography by John Pearson, published in the 1980s, added new and embellished elements to the character's history, including the ageing Biggles' suicide in a vintage Spitfire in the 1960s. A4 format cartoon adventures in which the Biggles characters use a mix of vintage and modern aircraft were published in the 1980s.

The lyrics of the Jethro Tull song, Thick As a Brick, has a line that mentions Biggles ("So, where the hell was Biggles when you needed him last Saturday?"). Additionally, Biggles is mentioned several times in the elaborate album cover, which is a parody of a local British newspaper, most significantly in a story entitled "Do Not See Me Rabbit".

Biggles comics

A list of comics was released in 1990 featuring the Biggles team. The titles are separate from the books though they cover the same war or after war investigation operations of Biggles.

List of Biggles books

1.      The Camels are Coming (1932)

2.      The Cruise of the Condor (1933)

3.      Biggles of the Camel Squadron (1934)

4.      Biggles Flies Again (1934)

5.      Biggles Learns To Fly (1935)

6.      The Black Peril (1935)

7.      Biggles Flies East (1935)

8.      Biggles Hits the Trail (1935)

9.      Biggles in France (1935)

10.  Biggles & Co (1936)

11.  Biggles in Africa (1936)

12.  Biggles - Air Commodore (1937)

13.  Biggles Flies West (1937)

14.  Biggles Flies South (1938)

15.  Biggles Goes To War (1938)

16.  The Rescue Flight (1939)

17.  Biggles in Spain (1939)

18.  Biggles Flies North (1939)

19.  Biggles - Secret Agent (1940)

20.  Biggles in the Baltic (1940)

21.  Biggles in the South Seas (1940)

22.  Biggles Defies the Swastika (1941)

23.  Biggles Sees It Through (1941)

24.  Spitfire Parade (1941)

25.  Biggles in the Jungle (1942)

26.  Biggles Sweeps the Desert (1942)

27.  Biggles - Charter Pilot (1943)

28.  Biggles in Borneo (1943)

29.  Biggles Fails To Return (1943)

30.  Biggles in the Orient (1945)

31.  Biggles Delivers the Goods (1946)

32.  Sergeant Bigglesworth CID (1947)

33.  Biggles' Second Case (1948)

34.  Biggles Hunts Big Game (1948)

35.  Biggles Takes a Holiday (1948)

36.  Biggles Breaks the Silence (1949)

37.  Biggles Gets His Men (1950)

38.  Another Job For Biggles (1951)

39.  Biggles Goes To School (1951)

40.  Biggles Works It Out (1952)

41.  Biggles Takes the Case (1952)

42.  Biggles Follows On (1952)

43.  Biggles - Air Detective (1952)

44.  Biggles and the Black Raider (1953)

45.  Biggles in the Blue (1953)

46.  Biggles in the Gobi (1953)

47.  Biggles of the Special Air Police (1953)

48.  Biggles Cuts It Fine (1954)

49.  Biggles and the Pirate Treasure (1954)

50.  Biggles Foreign Legionnaire (1954)

51.  Biggles Pioneer Air Fighter (1954)

52.  Biggles in Australia (1955)

53.  Biggles' Chinese Puzzle (1955)

54.  Biggles of 266 (1956)

55.  No Rest For Biggles (1956)

56.  Biggles Takes Charge (1956)

57.  Biggles Makes Ends Meet (1957)

58.  Biggles of the Interpol (1957)

59.  Biggles on the Home Front (1957)

60.  Biggles Presses On (1958)

61.  Biggles on Mystery Island (1958)

62.  Biggles Buries a Hatchet (1958)

63.  Biggles in Mexico (1959)

64.  Biggles' Combined Operation (1959)

65.  Biggles at the World's End (1959)

66.  Biggles and the Leopards of Zinn (1960)

67.  Biggles Goes Home (1960)

68.  Biggles and the Poor Rich Boy (1960)

69.  Biggles Forms a Syndicate (1961)

70.  Biggles and the Missing Millionaire (1961)

71.  Biggles Goes Alone (1962)

72.  Orchids for Biggles (1962)

73.  Biggles Sets a Trap (1962)

74.  Biggles Takes It Rough (1963)

75.  Biggles Takes a Hand (1963)

76.  Biggles' Special Case (1963)

77.  Biggles and the Plane That Disappeared (1963)

78.  Biggles Flies To Work (1963)

79.  Biggles and the Lost Sovereigns (1964)

80.  Biggles and the Black Mask (1964)

81.  Biggles Investigates (1964)

82.  Biggles Looks Back (1965)

83.  Biggles and the Plot That Failed (1965)

84.  Biggles and the Blue Moon (1965)

85.  Biggles Scores a Bull (1965)

86.  Biggles in the Terai (1966)

87.  Biggles and the Gun Runners (1966)

88.  Biggles Sorts It Out (1967)

89.  Biggles and the Dark Intruder (1967)

90.  Biggles and the Penitent Thief (1967)