Captain W.E. Johns Captain W.E. Johns You can find an extensive biography in the Captain W.E. Johns Catalogue . Here are some highlights: William Earl Johns was born in 1893 in Bengeo, Hertfordshire, England as son of a tailor. During World War I he first served as machine-gunner and from 1918 as fighter pilot with the RFC in France. He was shot down over Mannheim, became a POW, escaped, was caught again and sentenced to death. He was saved by the sudden ending of the war! He stayed with the Royal Air Force until 1931, as flight instructor and later recruiting officer. When he left his rank was "Flying Officer". When several years later he became a successful author he added "Captain" to his name. He started his career as a very skilful aviation artist/ illustrator/ painter for many purposes (magazines, brochures, postcards, posters, books). William Earl Johns In the early thirties he created his most famous hero, James Bigglesworth - "BIGGLES" -, in short stories based on his own World War I experiences and on those of his friends.

Biggles almost immediately became very popular en was turned into a junior hero for boys. Altogether Johns wrote 98 books , not in chronological order ( see chronology list ), on Biggles! He was also very successful as author of non-fiction (aviation, gardening) and other fiction series with other heroes/heroines, like the female pilot Worrals , Gimlet and Steeley and even a science fiction series. Johns wrote 167 books and probably hundreds of short stories! He died in 1968, while writing the book "Biggles does some homework"; Biggles was to retire in that particular story! His books were published in 26 countries and he was the second best selling children's author (after Enid Blyton) in the UK! There was also published one movie about Biggles. Still his Biggles books are being republished in several countries ( the Netherlands , Belgium , Czech Republic , United Kingdom ) and also new stories, based on the original characters, are frequently found. Over than 40 years after his death Captain W.E. Johns is still very much with us! Twickenham Museum - Captain W. E.

Johns People : Writers, Poets and Historians Captain W. E. Johns Bomber pilot, illustrator, aviation writer and author of Biggles books 1893 - 1968 William Earl Johns, author of 104 Biggles books Johns in the First World War William Earl Johns was born in February 1893 at Bengeo in Hertfordshire, the son of a tailor. After short careers as apprentice to a county surveyor and as a sanitary inspector, Johns joined the Territorial Army as a Private in the King's Own Royal Regiment. He married Maude Hunt in October 1914. During the First World War, he fought at Gallipoli against the Turks and the Germans. As a machine gunner Johns was sent to Salonika in Greece. He took part in the spring offensive in April 1917, but Johns contracted malaria and whilst in hospital he put in for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps, which was merged with the Royal Naval Air Service to form the Royal Air Force in April 1918. When his transfer came through he learnt to fly in "an old Rumpity", a Maurice Farman Shorthorn.

His early experiences were to go into the book Biggles Learns to Fly. He had an aptitude for flying but had a number of spectacular crashes, stalling and crashing on his first solo flight, and once wrote off three planes in three days. This was not, however, unusual in those days. Whilst stationed at Marske-on-Sea, Yorkshire, the CO was a Major Champion, who was nicknamed Gimlet, a nickname Johns was to later borrow for one of his characters. A De Havilland DH4, the "flaming coffin". Johns was shot down over Germany in an aircraft of this type. Image courtesy of AgustaWestland. The First World War - Johns narrowly escapes execution Johns was posted to No. 55 Bombing Squadron stationed at Azelot, near Nancy in France. He piloted De Havilland DH4 aircraft, two-seater heavy bombers. They were nicknamed "flaming coffins" because the petrol tank was between the pilot and his rear observer/gunner and made a good target for enemy aircraft. It was on Monday 16th September 1918 that Johns failed to return from a mission.

He had spent the night in Nancy and got lost on the return journey, stopping at a magnificent French house at 3 a.m. to ask for directions. Here he had met a beautiful French girl and spent some time with her - she was to become the inspiration for the love of Biggles' life, Marie Janis in The Camels are coming. Johns' aircraft was hit by German anti-aircraft fire over Mannheim and its fuel tank holed. Forced out of formation, they were attacked by Fokker DVII fighters, the outstanding fighter of WW I. Johns made a forced landing and was captured. Accused of indiscriminate bombing of civilian targets, Johns was sentenced to be executed, but this was never carried out and he was sent to a Strasbourg gaol. After 2 escape attempts, one successful, he was recaptured whilst stealing apples. After the war, he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Inspectorate of Recruiting and recruited 'John Hume Ross' (T E Lawrence - of Arabia) into the RAF. Johns initially rejected Lawrence because of his assumed name, but was forced to take him by higher authority.

Johns later exploded the myth that Lawrence's identity was a secret: from the first day one officer warned another that Aircraftman Second Class Ross dined with cabinet ministers. In 1922 Johns wrote his first novel, Mossyface, under the pseudonym William Earle (Johns adding the "e"). His marriage had now deteriorated and Johns fell in love with Doris May Leigh - they were inseparable until the day he died, although they never married. "The Camels are coming" - the first Biggles book, published in 1932 "Biggles" is born In 1927 he began selling aviation illustrations and writing aviation articles. Johns edited two books in 1931, The Modern Boy's Book of Aircraft and Wings: a Book of Flying Adventures. He also illustrated The Pictorial Flying Course, and Fighting Planes and Aces. In March 1932, John Hamilton Ltd, his publisher, launched Popular Flying and invited Johns to edit it. Johns created a fictional airman for the first issue - James Bigglesworth ('Biggles' ), credited as being written by 'William Earle'.

In August 1932, John Hamilton published a collection of Biggles stories - the first Biggles book - as The Camels are Coming. It was around this time that Johns assumed the title Captain, although he only achieved the rank of Flying Officer, as he thought it might appeal more to children. Popular Flying lived up to its title and in 1934 its circulation was 24,500 a month. In 1935, it was sold to George Newnes Ltd. Newnes launched a sister paper to 'Popular Flying' - a weekly magazine called 'Flying' - which Johns edited. By February 1938, Johns was also writing a regular weekly column for 'The Modern Boy'. He was now writing books at an astonishing rate, some 40 between 1931 and 1939! Johns' opposition to the Government's policy of appeasement upset prominent politicians and he was removed as editor of Newnes' flying magazines. His last editorial for the weekly 'Flying' magazine was on 21st January 1939. The Second World War During the Second World War, Johns' books encouraged hundreds of young men to train as pilots.

Recognising this, the Air Ministry asked Johns to create a female counterpart to aid recruitment to the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, and thus Worrals appeared in 1941. The War Office needed their own hero so, in 1943, commando officer Gimlet appeared. Publishing of the books was transferred to Oxford University Press, who failed to recognise their potential, and then to Hodder and Stoughton. In 1944 Doris and Bill Johns moved to Grantown-on-Spey, Morayshire. Park House, Hampton Court, where Johns spent his last years Johns moves to Hampton Court For the post-war Biggles stories, Biggles joined the "Air Police". Johns sold serial rights to newspapers and magazines as well as one-off stories to the vast number of children's annuals being published. Compilations of these stories were regularly published in book form. Johns moved to Park House, Hampton Court, in 1953, where he wrote the first of a series of science fiction stories.

In 1964, the UNESCO Statistical Yearbook placed Biggles books 29th on a list of the most translated books in the world and Biggles was the most popular juvenile hero in the world. Biggles stories were serialised on the radio and also appeared in 1960 in a television series (although Johns' actual stories were not used). On the 21st June 1968, whilst writing Biggles Does Some Homework, Johns stopped to make a cup of tea. He went upstairs to Doris and sat in his armchair, suffered a fatal heart attack and died immediately. He was 75 years old. After Enid Blyton, Johns was the most prolific children's writer of his time. He wrote 169 books in total (104 were Biggles books) and many magazine articles. References: Dictionary of National Biography, 1961-1970, Oxford University Press. By Jove, Biggles!: The life of Captain W. E. Johns, Peter Berresford Ellis and Piers Williams, W. H. Allen, 1981.

Biggles in the Jungle (Biggles, book 25) by Captain W E Johns A novel by Captain W E Johns James Bigglesworth, nicknamed "Biggles", is a fictional pilot and adventurer, the title character and main hero of the Biggles series of youth-oriented adventure books written by W. E. Johns (1893-1968). Biggles 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. The series was continued until the author's death in 1968, eventually spanning nearly a hundred volumes - including novels and short story collections - most, but not all, of the latter with a common setting and time frame. Interesting Facts about Biggles | Interesting Literature Interesting Facts about Biggles Posted by interestingliterature Some interesting trivia about the Biggles books and their author, Captain W. E. Johns The Biggles books, detailing the adventures of fictional pilot James Bigglesworth, were hugely popular in the mid-twentieth century.

Ever since the young pilot’s first appearance – in a story called ‘The White Fokker’ in 1932 – he has been delighting and entertaining readers. His creator, Captain W. E. Johns (1893-1968), was a prolific author and wrote over a hundred Biggles books in total. ‘Captain’ W. E. Johns never attained the rank of Captain – he was only a Flying Officer, but adopted the title when he published his hugely popular Biggles books, believing that ‘Captain’ would appeal more to young readers. The first volume of Biggles stories, The Camels Are Coming, appeared in 1932 (its title refers to the fighter plane, the Sopwith Camel, rather than the animal). The character of Biggles and his friend, Ginger Hebblethwaite (Ginger was his nickname, of course; we never learn his real given name) are reasonably well known, but how many people can actually name the title of a Biggles book? Unless you’re a hardened Biggles fan, you may know the name of the characters but might find it difficult to name a particular book title.

Some of the lesser-known titles of books in the Biggles series are Biggles Goes to School, Biggles Takes It Rough, Biggles Delivers the Goods, Orchids for Biggles, Biggles Scores a Bull, Biggles in the Underworld, and the last book on which Johns was working when he died, Biggles Does Some Homework (this is slightly more exciting than the title makes it sound). Captain – sorry, Flying Officer – Johns was lucky to survive WWI, perhaps luckier than most. In September 1918 he flew bomber planes in a raid on the German city of Mannheim, but was shot down and captured. It wasn’t a good time to be captured in that neck of the woods: shortly before Johns flew over the city, a whole group of German Sunday school children had been killed in a raid. The Germans were unforgiving, and Johns was sentenced to be shot. In the end, this sentence was commuted to imprisonment, and he was sent to Strasbourg where he lived out the remainder of the war (only a few weeks) in a prisoner-of-war camp.

He was presumed dead and his family were surprised – and, one imagines, more than a little relieved – when he eventually made it home. After the war, Johns joined the RAF and was put in charge of recruitment, and initially turned down T. E. Lawrence (better known as Lawrence of Arabia, but at the time going under the assumed name of John Hume Ross), though his superiors overruled him. Johns was a talented flyer but also frequently crashed: he once wrote off three planes in three days . But in the temperamental early days of aircraft technology, this was almost to be expected. Biggles is well remembered, particularly amongst readers of a certain age and a certain gender (the readership is overwhelmingly male), but few now read Johns’ accompanying ‘Worrals’ series. Flight Officer Joan Worralson, known as ‘Worrals’, was the protagonist of eleven books and was created in response to a request from the Air Ministry, who wished to boost recruitment among the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (the ‘WAAFs’) during the Second World War. Biggles had proved so popular with male readers that he had helped to boost recruitment among the RAF.

Worrals was, in John Sutherland’s phrase, ‘Biggles in skirts’, and would not prove to be as popular as James Bigglesworth. W. E. Johns also wrote a number of space novels – science fiction for young novels – about interplanetary conflict, with titles such as The Edge of Beyond and Return to Mars. As his most successful creation testifies, exploration and adventure were the watchwords of Johns’ fictional universe. Johns died aged 75 of a heart attack in 1968, while making a cup of tea , halfway through writing the final Biggles book. Even as late as 1964, a UNESCO survey was showing that Biggles was the most popular juvenile hero with readers. And his influence is still with us: in 2009, a real-life pilot attributed his lucky escape in a crash to his knowledge of Biggles stories . If you enjoyed these interesting facts about Biggles, we recommend the Biggles Information Web Site for more information. Image: Biggles of the Interpol book cover, via Bradford Timeline on Flickr .

Share this: I think I was the tail-end, reading Biggles in 1977/78, but never really enjoyed it, not as much as the ‘Battle’ or ‘Action’ stories, or ‘Victor.’ Just William, on the other hand… I sound like a right little Rupert, eh? Oh and ‘Rupert,’ I have all of those :) Enjoyed this post very much and I’ll go see the website. Not sure what I’d read if I was after an adult version. Don’t think I have the intellect for 7 Pillars of Wisdom [is that it, TE?] Seeya I am most certainly ‘of a certain age’ and Biggles helped to keep me sane during my younger years! Terry Biggles in Mexico (Biggles, book 63) by Captain W E Johns A novel by Captain W E Johns James Bigglesworth, nicknamed "Biggles", is a fictional pilot and adventurer, the title character and main hero of the Biggles series of youth-oriented adventure books written by W. E. Johns (1893-1968).

Biggles 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. The series was continued until the author's death in 1968, eventually spanning nearly a hundred volumes - including novels and short story collections - most, but not all, of the latter with a common setting and time frame. Cripes! Biggles was real: Adventurer hero named after Great War airman | Daily Mail Online Cripes! Biggles was real: Adventurer hero named after Great War airman The RAF Museum has found evidence that the literary hero was a real pilot Discovered a court report from Major James Bigglesworth The document was found amongst author W E Johns' manuscripts Character was a daring adventurer epitomising traditional Imperial values comments Biggles: A real life Major James Bigglesworth has been discovered For decades, Biggles has held children in thrall with his fictional exploits as a dashing Royal Air Force pilot. But now it has emerged that his unlikely adventures may have been based on fact – in the shape of a real airman from the First World War.

A 1918 combat report by a pilot called Major James Bigglesworth has been found at the RAF Museum in a collection of papers that once belonged to Biggles author WE Johns. The full name of the Biggles of the books was exactly the same – James Bigglesworth. The vital document was kept in the manuscript of a book Johns published in 1953 as Biggles in the Gobi. The museum’s researchers have been combing through their files to find further evidence of Bigglesworth’s career in the services. Adding to the mystery, none has turned up so far. Peter Elliott, who is in charge of the museum’s archives, said: ‘The WE Johns archive fills the curators with dread as his handwriting is famously terrible. ‘The combat report was tucked into a manuscript and would not have been found if we hadn’t been reviewing our material for the First World War.

‘RAF record-keeping was pretty thorough, but there is some evidence of Bigglesworth’s name having been removed from other sources, possibly for security reasons when he moved to the Special Air Police later in his career.’ RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share Combat reports were filled in by all pilots at the end of an engagement to help their superiors assess the damage inflicted on the enemy. Adventurer: Biggles encapsulated the daring attitude and traditional Imperial values of the time The one written by Bigglesworth describes a fight over Hazebrouck in Northern France in 1918 that resulted in a ‘hostile machine’ being shot down. It will be displayed as part of an exhibition about Biggles at the museum for its First World War centenary exhibition next year. Captain William Earl Johns, who died in 1968, was a pilot in the RFC – the forerunner of the RAF – before creating the Biggles adventures in the 1930s. Johns was shot down and taken prisoner by the Germans in the latter stages of the war. He had switched to the flying corps following service as an infantryman and then as a machine-gunner.

Discovery: It seems that author Captain William Earl Johns used James Bigglesworth as inspiration for his legendary character Although the author himself has been suggested as the model for Biggles, Johns stated that it was composite character based on a number of real people. Biggles first appeared in the story The White Fokker, which was published in the first issue of Popular Flying magazine in 1932. His adventures saw him serve in both world wars along with stints in the secret service and air police. The series continued until the author’s death and ran to nearly 100 volumes – including novels and short stories. Still in print, the books have been published in dozens of languages. Firm favourite: The character was immortalised in the 1986 film 'Biggles' The RAF Museum tells the story of the air force through its people and collections at a former airfield in Hendon, North London. Its archive contains more than 1.2million items including letters, diaries, photographs, log books and combat reports. Many of the First World War records are being digitised to make them more accessible to the public.

The Royal Air Force was founded on April 1, 1918, by combining the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. Biggles by Johns, First Edition - AbeBooks Biggles by Johns, First Edition You Searched For: Results (1 - 30) of 2110 1 Johns, Captain W. E. [William Earle] 1893-1968 [Illustrated by Howard Leigh and Alfred Sindall] Published by Published by Oxford University Press, Amen House, London First Edition . London 1936. (1936) Used Hardcover First Edition Destination, Rates & Speeds Item Description: Published by Oxford University Press, Amen House, London First Edition . London 1936., 1936. First edition hard back binding in publisher's original grey cloth covers and top edge, navy lettering and framed navy illustration to spine, biplane on runway and three small aircraft hangers behind to upper panel. 8vo 1.9 thick x 7½" x 5½" 256 pp. Colour frontispiece and six monochrome illustrations by Howard Leigh and Alfred Sindall.

Slight spine slant, free from foxing. Near Fine condition book in near Fine condition professionally restored dust wrapper, principally at the head of the spine, not price clipped 3/6. Dust wrapper supplied in archive acetate film protection, this is not adhered to the book or to the dust wrapper and can easily be removed should you so wish. JOHNS, Captain W. E. Bookseller Inventory # 26118 Destination, Rates & Speeds Item Description: Oxford, 1939. Hardcover. Book Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. A rare 1st Edition of Biggles - The Rescue Flight by W E Johns in original jacket, published by Oxford in 1939. The book is VG+ with some mild discoloration to boards and a neat inscription to second fep dated Christmas 1939. Some very mild foxing to pages and bottom edges. The dustwrapper is a very pleasing VG but has minor watercolour paint blob to rear and some creasing, in particular vertically through the front, also some brown paper tape support largely to rear of jacket.

Overall a bright clean and tight copy of one of the much rarer early Biggles. Paypal accepted. Bookseller Inventory # ABE-1481055584820 Destination, Rates & Speeds Item Description: Oxford, 1939. Hardcover. Book Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. A scarce Oxford 1st Edition of Biggles - The Rescue Flight by W E Johns. A rare title especially in the original jacket, published by Oxford in 1939. The book is VG+ / Near Fine with a short inscription dated Christmas 1939 and mild foxing to some pages and foxing to bottom edge. The dustwrapper is a very pleasing VG with some unobtrusive creases and some brown paper tape support - all original unrestored, there is also a blue watercolour paint blob to rear (easily removed). DJ is price clipped. Overall a bright clean and tight copy of one of the rarer early Biggles. Paypal accepted.

Bookseller Inventory # ABE-1481056840330 Destination, Rates & Speeds Item Description: Oxford, 1935. Hardcover. Book Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. 1st Edition. A rare Oxford 1st Edition of Biggles Flies East by W E Johns (probably his best story). Very scarce in original jacket, published by Oxford in 1935. The book is Near Fine without inscription and very mild foxing to edges. The dustwrapper is a VG- with an attractive front and spine with slight wear but to the rear there is an unsightly sellotape repair. Not price clipped. Overall a bright clean and tight copy of one of the rarer early Biggles. Paypal accepted. Bookseller Inventory # ABE-1481062265583 Published by Norman Wright / Jennifer Schofield, Watford (1997) Used Soft Cover First Edition Quantity Available: 1 Destination, Rates & Speeds Item Description: Norman Wright / Jennifer Schofield, Watford, 1997. Soft Cover. Book Condition: Good / Goed.

Skilleter, Andrew (illustrator). 1ste / 1st. 170 pages. 1 illustration / frontispice. The Biggles publishing event of the decade! At last, the oppurtinity to read the 97th Biggles book - the tantalizing and mysterious end to an epic saga! When Captain W.E. Johns died in 1968 he left behind the first twelve chapters of Biggles Does some Homework - never published until today. In this final Air Police story there is an unexpected development. Did Johns intend this tale to finish the serie about his worldfamous air ace, once and for all? Read this surprising narrative and decide for yourself. Biggles' name has become a household word, and his heroic adventures are now completed with authentic story by Captain W. E. Johns. This is the first edition, privately published, of Biggles does some Homework in a limited edition of 300 copies, this is number: 185. Introduction and Appendices 11 and 111 by Norman Wright and Jennifer Schofield. Size: A5. Paperback.

Bookseller Inventory # 004607 Destination, Rates & Speeds Item Description: Oxford University Press, London, 1943. Hard Cover. Book Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. Mendoza (illustrator). First Edition. 8vo. First Edition, 157 pp. foredges browned and lightly foxed, light foxing to gutters of endpapers, otherwise light uniform browning, very good in original pictorial red cloth, small crease in cloth at top corner (production flaw), extremities lightly rubbed, faint bump to lower corner rear board otherwise very good, cloth clean and bright, with chipped and repaired dustwrapper, extremities rubbed, not price clipped, good in removable protective cellophane sleeve. images available on request. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Bookseller Inventory # 20558 Destination, Rates & Speeds Item Description: Published by Oxford University Press, Amen House, London First Edition . London 1941., 1941.

First edition hard back binding in publisher's original dark red cloth covers and top edge, black lettering and framed black illustration to spine, biplane with map of Norway to the front cover. 8vo true first edition 1.9 thick x 7½'' x 5½'' 249 printed pages of text followed by a 6 page catalogue. Colour frontispiece and six monochrome illustrations by Howard Leigh and Alfred Sindall. 16 listed stories by W. E. Johns to the book starting with The Camels are Coming and ending with Spitfire Parade. Ink name and address to the front paste down and front free end paper, fox browning to the text block edges, corners sharp, colours not faded. Very Good condition book in Very Good condition price clipped dust wrapper with one small chip to the top of the spine not affecting the text, faint vertical crease line to the front cover, spine colours very slightly darkened. 15 Oxford W. E. Johns titles listed to the rear in brown lettering with an aerodrome above the words 'Books For Boys', and two fish below the words 'Oxford University Press'. JOHNS, Captain W. E.

Bookseller Inventory # 65842 Destination, Rates & Speeds Item Description: Brockhampton Press, 1968. Book Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First Edition. HARDBACK - The book is in near fine or better condition. The book is free of any previous owner names or Inscriptions. The pages are exceptionally clean with no foxing, the maroon boards are bright with no staining or fading. There is a tiny bump to the bottom corner of the front board. The dust wrapper is in near fine condition. The dust wrapper has not been price clipped, the wrapper's colours are bright and without fading. Issue number 79 to the base of the spine, as called for. Bookseller Inventory # 000616 Destination, Rates & Speeds Item Description: Brockhampton Press, England, 1968. Hardcover. Book Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good -. First Edition. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. Jacket is price clipped with tiny amounts of erosion to corners, perhaps 1mm to head of the spine.

(Now in loose protective sleeve) Burgandy/maroon coloured boards. Scattered foxing mostly to the top fore edge of the compressed page edges Book is very slightly bumped to corners. A very nice copy of a very scarce 1st edition. Name in ink with gift marking to front free endpaper Note for edition collectors :There is a reprint edition in the 1st edition format in red boards please contact if you would like identification details. Bookseller Inventory # 018685 Destination, Rates & Speeds Item Description: Published by Oxford University Press, Amen House, London First Edition . London 1941., 1941. First edition hard back binding in publisher's original orange cloth covers and top edge, dark brown lettering and and a German plane about to crash to the spine, plane with skis and brown title lettering to the front cover. 8vo true first thick edition x 7½'' x 5½'' 254 printed pages of text. Colour frontispiece and six monochrome illustrations by Howard Leigh and Alfred Sindall. 17 listed stories by W. E. Johns to the book starting with The Camels are Coming and ending with Spitfire Parade.

Ink name to the front free end paper, fox spot browning to the text block edges and end papers. Near Very Good condition book in near Very Good condition price clipped dust wrapper with the word 'Found' as called for inside the front flap, one small chip to the top of the spine just affecting the top of the letter 'B' of 'Biggles, internally repaired crease lines down the spine, surface rubbing of the paper to the fore edge, spine colours not faded. 13 Oxford W. E. Johns titles listed to the rear in blue lettering with an aerodrome above the words 'Books For Boys', and two fish below the words 'Oxford University Press'. JOHNS, Captain W. E. Bookseller Inventory # 65843 Destination, Rates & Speeds Item Description: Brockhampton Press, London, 1968. Hardcover. Book Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. 1968, 1st Edition, 1st Impression. 8vo., 184pp. Publisher's original dark red cloth boards with gilt titles to spine.

The book itself is in fine condition, very firm spine tips, fore edge corners very firm and sharp, no wear or rubbing. The binding is very tight and square. There is some light spotting to the edges of the text block. Internally, the pages are very clean indeed. There are a couple of foxing spots over the first few pages and a short neat inscription at the top of the front free endpaper. Apart from those and some of the edge spots beginning to appear at the page edges, there are no marks, stains or blemishes. The book appears unread. The dust jacket has been price clipped and has a crease line down the upper fore edge, with a tiny 5mm x 1mm of surface rubbing. The top of the spine has very light surface rubbing at the extreme tip and there is a small, light drop mark of 10mm down the upper joint and two 1mm diameter ones on the spine. The two bottom fore edge corners have a miniscule amount of very light surface rubbing only. We have listed every dust jacket defect, but overall it is in stunning, near fine condition. Despite the very minor flaws detailed above, this book is in overall near fine condition.

If you would like any further images of any aspect or need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us. Bookseller Inventory # 000098 Destination, Rates & Speeds Item Description: London: Oxford University Press:, First edition, First issue, 1938. Hardcover. Book Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. 8vo, 255pp, colour frontispiece, 6 b/w illus. and a map by Howard Leigh and Jack Nicolle, orig. mustard colour cloth, pictorial designs and lettering in brown to spine and upper cover. A remarkably bright clean fresh copy in literally fine condition. Ex Libris W.N. Goldsmith with his neat signature to blank front endpaper. Biggles, Algy and Ginger are flying down to Capetown in South Africa for a 266 Squadron Reunion Dinner organised by Major Mullen, Biggles old C.O. Stopping over in Cairo, with plenty of time to spare, they are approached by a young Egyptian called Kadar Alloui Bay. He wants to buy their aeroplane to help in his search for the remains of a lost Persian Army.

Lead by a General called Cambyses, the army was consumed by the desert in the year 525 B.C. Kadar also searches for a lost oasis called Zenzura and believes that aviators may have recently discovered it. (In the third chapter of the book, W. E. Johns has Ginger say that he read about the lost oasis in ï¿½Popular Flyingï¿½ and Kadar reads from the article in the August 1932 edition!). Intrigued by Kadar's story, Biggles agrees to an expedition financed by Kadar's father. However, there is a man determined to stop Kadar. He is called Fuad Zarwan and he is quite willing to resort to murder in order to do so. Flying to an Oasis at Semphis in order to meet a camel caravan of supplies, including precious petrol to refuel them, Biggles finds that his fuel tank has been deliberately holed. When the caravan doesn't arrive, Biggles uses what petrol he has left to look for it and finds them all massacred in the desert and all the supplies gone.

Trying to return to Semphis, Biggles' plane is caught in a haboob (a severe sandstorm) and blown off course. Forced to land by lack of petrol, our heroes find themselves in strange mountains and leaving Algy to guard the plane, they find a hidden oasis. After a frightening trip through some tombs, Biggles, Algy and Kadar are captured by Zarwan and his Tuareg Arabs. They stake their captives out in the sun and cover them with honey in an attempt to feed them to the ants. Saved by Algy, a desperate fight begins and ends with both sides being captured by the strange race who dwell at the oasis, who are believed to be the survivors of Cambyses' army. Their captors sacrifice Zarwan to the crocodile that lives in the oasis. Then comes Biggles' turn to be sacrificed. However, Biggles has a surprise in store for both the crocodile and his captors and he manages to escape, taking with him some petrol, which was being carried by Zarwan's Arabs after they attacked the camel caravan. This petrol enables Biggles to fly to the oasis and scare off the locals before Algy, Ginger and Kadar are buried alive.

Filling the tanks of the plane with the remaining petrol, our heroes fly to the Oasis of Siwah and escape. Bookseller Inventory # 2773 Destination, Rates & Speeds Item Description: John Hamilton, 1934. Book Condition: Good. 10th. First edition. Blue cloth boards, gilt titling to sunned spine. Small tear to cloth at top of spine. Outer surface of cloth appears to have a thin protective of clear lacquer(?) over it. Front board almost completely covered by the front panel of original jacket. Title page has oval ink stamp from "Le Bouquet Library" Toorak, small stamp to fep indicating the book should be returned within 7 days and several ink date stamps to rear end-paper from 16 Oct. 1934 to 10 Dec. 1937. No losses, tears or foxing. Oval stamp or 7 day stamp approx. 6 times throughout the book. Good example of the first edition/issue with the rare inclusion of a partial jacket. Bookseller Inventory # 001253 Destination, Rates & Speeds Item Description: Oxford University Press, London, 1940. HB.

Book Condition: VG. Dust Jacket Condition: VG. First Edition. Blue cloth cover. Soft soiling to cover. Once blue head edge now quite faded. Light foxing to edges.Small school stamp to bottom front endpaper, single line penciled note to ffep. Very faint and few only foxing to a few only page margins. Binding tight albeit ever so slightly askew. 256p Dj: very light blue smudges to rear cover. Head & bottom of spine with thin rubbed wear and chips. Head of front flap with tiny chips. Price-cut to front flap foot. Bookseller Inventory # 025322 Destination, Rates & Speeds Item Description: Oxford University Press, London, 1941. HB. Book Condition: VG. Dust Jacket Condition: VG. Howard Leigh and Alfred Sindall (illustrator). First Edition. Orange cloth cover with black titles. Soft dusting of soiling to cover. Light rubbing and thin bumping to head & bottom of spine. Light age browning and moderate foxing to head edge. Very light foxing to fore and bottom edge. Small booksellers stamp to bottom fep. Extremely faint foxing to title page.

Quite clean content, binding very good albeit ever so slightly loose. 254p Dj: light fading to jacket. faint rubbing, soft dusting of just a little soiling, thin rubbing and a couple of very teeny chips to head & bottom of spine. Price-cut to front flap foot. Bookseller Inventory # 025328 Destination, Rates & Speeds Item Description: Brockhampton Press, Great Britain, 1968. HB. Book Condition: VG. Dust Jacket Condition: VG. First Edition. Clean maroon cloth cover with gold titles. Moderate foxing to head edge, light foxing to fore-edge and single foxing spot to bottom edge. Small booksellers stamp to bottom front endpaper. Very faint few only foxing to rep. Quite clean content, binding tight. 184p Dj: very faint rubbing and light few only small scratches. Thin faded rubbed red line to rear side of spine seam, head of spine with small tears and chips. Price-cut to front flap foot. Bookseller Inventory # 025330 Destination, Rates & Speeds Item Description: Oxford University Press, London, 1941. Hardcover. Book Condition: Good.

Dust Jacket Condition: Good. Illustrated by Howard Leigh and Alfred Sindall (illustrator). 1st Edition. 12mo - over 6¾ - 7¾" tall. First edition in original, non-price-clipped "4 / - NET" dust jacket, said jacket "good" with chipping to head and heel of spine. Book itself is good to good-plus, will close its own text block; no problem with interior hinges, though exterior hinges appear to have been tightened. Bound in red cloth, book is 1-and-5/8ths inches thick. Scattered foxing to page edges, to preliminary pages, to pp. 20-21 (site of first internal B&W illustration) and to top edges, where the red topstain is now faded and mottled. Preliminary page lists 16 Biggles titles through "Spitfire Parade" (also 1941), but not this title. (OUP appears to list only its own titles, not early titles from Hamilton or Brockhampton.) Glossy frontispiece is in full color; six internal illustrations are B&W on matte paper. " A* " to bottom of first page of text. 249 pp.

followed by a one-page author bio and then 5 pp. of synopses of other titles in the series. Rear panel of jacket lists 15 Biggles titles through "Sees It Through" (also 1941), not including this title. These books usually listed as "juveniles" and appropriately so: Armed with little but pluck, resourcefulness, and a firm grasp of the German and Norwegian tongues, Squadron-Leader James Bigglesworth awakens in his Oslo hotel room to find Norway has been overrun with Germans overnight, thereafter appearing little daunted by the prospect of hoodwinking and running circles around substantial elements of the Wehrmacht, the Luftwaffe, and the Gestapo, single-handed. Reduced from $915. Bookseller Inventory # 003572 Destination, Rates & Speeds Item Description: Norman Wright, Dorset, 2009. Book Condition: Mint. Dust Jacket Condition: Mint. Andrew Skilleter (illustrator). First Edition Thus. limited to 300 copies, this one is numbered 266 - Biggles' squadron number. This group of 12 stories was the final collection of R.F.C.

adventures originally published in Modern Boy 1934-5, but only published in the rare paperback in 1935 as number 501 in the Boys' Friend Library, now a rarity. This is the first hardback version, and the only version to reprint all the stories in their original form, and also includes all 24 half-tone illustrations from Modern Boy, The jacket design is by Andrew Skilleter, a Mint copy in Mint d/w. Bookseller Inventory # 002737 Biggles - Fanlore Biggles Books, Radio, TV, Comics, Film, Computer Game Country of Origin: 6 References Biggles is a pilot, the titular hero of a series of nearly a hundred novels and short story collections for boys by Captain W.E. Johns (1907-1993) [1] , beginning with The Camels Are Coming (1932) and ending with Biggles Sees Too Much (1970).

Two subsequent books, Biggles Does Some Homework (1997) and Biggles Air Ace: The Uncollected Stories (1999) were respectively an unfinished novel published in that state in a limited edition, and short stories published much earlier that had been omitted from earlier collections. There was also an Australian radio series The Air Adventures Of Biggles (1949-1954), a British 44-episode TV series (1960), numerous comics, and a film which was generally felt to be unfaithful to its source material; Biggles: Adventures in Time (1986) with a computer game based on it. Canon James Bigglesworth, nicknamed "Biggles", begins as a teenager in the First World War. Having lied about his age, he enlists in the Royal Flying Corps aged 17 and quickly becomes a flying ace and commander of his own wing of fighters. He often takes part in intelligence missions, such as flying spies behind enemy lines. His usual companions are his cousin Algernon ('Algy') Lacey and his mechanic Flight Sergeant Smyth, who continue to work with him after the war.

Various other pilots appear in the series, but (especially in the WW1 stories) tend to be killed or otherwise leave the series fairly quickly. Another long-term character is Major Raymond (later Colonel, then Wing Commander and ultimately Air Commander after the formation of the Royal Air Force), who is his mentor and often responsible for his intelligence missions. A frequent enemy in this period, continuing on until the Cold War era, is German intelligence officer Erich von Stalhein. Between the wars Biggles and Algy operate an amphibious aircraft, which is used for charter flights and occasionally for British Secret Service operations. An eventual recruit to the team is Ginger Hebblethwaite, a teenager who acts as sidekick in subsequent stories. In WW2 Biggles commands 666 Squadron, a "special duties" unit that serves around the world in a variety of roles. As usual Algy and Ginger accompany him, with the rest of the complement of an RAF squadron, many of them stereotypes for one or another nationality or region in the UK. A new member of the core team is Lord Bertram 'Bertie' Lissie.

Post WW2 Raymond recruits Biggles to a new Scotland Yard department, the Special Air Police, assigned to investigate crimes involving aircraft and often to intelligence missions. These often pitted him against Erich von Stalhein, now with the East German secret police, but he eventually rescued von Stalhein from prison and they ended as friends. He is still with the Special Air Police in the last books of the series. Because of their nature and period, and because they were often edited to conform to "boy's adventure story" expectations, these books contained period racism and to an extent sexism, though Johns was considerably better in this respect than many other authors; he also wrote the Worrals series about a female WW2 pilot. Fandom Like many series intended for boys, these books mostly have an all-male cast (occasional female romantic interests appear but never last) and it has long been open to slash interpretations; interpretations reinforced by several references to the series in Monty Python's Flying Circus . The most common pairing is Biggles/Algy .

Fanworks Biggles stories (search for Biggles stories on Fanfiction.net ) Resources Biggles Flies Uncensored: More Whisky, Less Jingoism ]; article about editorial censorship of the Biggles books. References ↑ Johns was a prolific author of more than 160 books, most of them about the armed forces. The main series were Biggles; the " Steeley " books (1936–1939), a World War 1 pilot turned crime-fighter; " Worrals " (1941–1950), the adventures of a female pilot in WW2; " Gimlet " (1943–1954), commando adventures, and the " 'Tiger' Clinton " books (1954–1963), science fiction with a background in part derived from flying saucer literature. There were occasional canon crossovers between the Biggles, Worrals, and Gimlet series, mostly in the short stories.

Question: What is the first name of Capt. W E Johns's fictional flying hero, Biggles?
Answer: James