"Many of the books involve sailing; fishing and camping are other common subjects. Biggles was a popular series of adventure books for young boys, about James Bigglesworth, a fictional pilot and adventurer, by W. E. Johns. 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 spanning nearly a hundred volumes – including novels and short story collections –"
"W. E. Johns William Earl Johns (5 February 189321 June 1968) was an English First World War pilot, and writer of adventure stories, usually written under the pen name Capt. W. E. Johns. He was the creator of the fictional air-adventurer ""Biggles"". Johns was born in Bengeo, Hertford, England, the son of Richard Eastman Johns, a fabric tailor, and Elizabeth Johns (née Earl), the daughter of a master butcher. A younger brother, Russell Ernest Johns, was born on 24 October 1895. Johns' early ambition was to be a soldier, and he was a crack shot with a rifle. From January"
"Worrals Flight Officer Joan Worralson, better known as ""Worrals"", is a fictional character created by W. E. Johns, more famous for his series of books about the airman Biggles. Worrals was a member of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) in the Second World War. She has a sidekick called Betty ""Frecks"" Lovell. Johns modelled Worrals on two female aviators of his acquaintance, Amy Johnson—whom he knew as ""Johnnie"" Mollison, from which Worrals' name is presumed to derive—and Pauline Gower. The first six books were written and set during the Second World War; the remainder mainly in places remote or"
"shows Biggles at last preparing to retire, and meeting his mixed-race replacement. The twelve chapters written were issued privately in 1997. Johns' body was cremated at the Kingston-upon-Thames Crematorium, on Bonner Hill. From 1953 Johns resided at Park House, Hampton Court Road, at Hampton Court in Middlesex. ""By Jove, Biggles!"", a biography of Johns, was published in 1981, written by Peter Berresford Ellis and Piers Williams. It was republished as ""Biggles! The Life Story of Capt. W. E. Johns"" (Veloce Publishing, 1993, ). W. E. Johns William Earl Johns (5 February 189321 June 1968) was an English First World War"
"rugby player and WWI flying ace Cyril Lowe, fighter pilot Albert Ball and air commodore Arthur Bigsworth. Johns stated that the character was a composite of many individuals in the RFC (including himself). The bulk of the Biggles books are set after the First World War, and after Johns' flying career was over. Biggles has an unusually lengthy career, flying a number of aircraft representative of the history of British military aviation, from Sopwith Camels during the First World War, Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires in the Second World War, right up to the Hawker Hunter jet fighter in a"
"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, ""The Air Adventures of Biggles"", was made under licence. 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. Another female character appears in the form of Worrals (Flight Officer Joan Worralson), eponymous heroine of a related series of books featuring this resourceful and ""plucky"""
"Captain Lorrington ""Gimlet"" King Captain Lorrington ""Gimlet"" King is a character created by the British author W.E. Johns, best known as the creator of Biggles and Worrals. The name 'Gimlet' is derived from a sharp implement resulting in a term for someone with keen eyesight. Johns is thought to have been inspired by Major 'Gimlet' Champion, one of his commanding officers during his flying career. The rest of the name may have been inspired by South African soldier and adventurer William Lorraine King who died shortly before the first novel was published. The books which were published during and after"
"Farman MF.11 The Maurice Farman MF.11 ""Shorthorn"" is a French aircraft developed before World War I by the Farman Aviation Works. It was used as a reconnaissance and light bomber during the early part of World War I, later being relegated to training duties. The Maurice Farman Shorthorn was the aircraft in which Biggles, Capt W.E. Johns' fictional character, first took to the air in ""Biggles Learns To Fly"". A pusher configuration unequal-span biplane like the earlier Farman MF.7, the MF.11 differed in lacking the forward-mounted elevator, the replacement of the biplane horizontal tail surfaces with a single surface with"
"with a common setting and time. Biggles first appears as a teenaged ""scout"" (fighter) pilot in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) during the First World War. He has joined the RFC in 1916 at the age of 17, having conveniently ""lost"" his birth certificate. Biggles represents a particularly ""British"" hero, combining professionalism with a gentlemanly air. Under the stress of combat he develops from a slightly hysterical youth prone to practical jokes to a calm, confident, competent leader. He is occasionally given ""special"" (secret) missions by the shadowy figure of Colonel (initially Major) Raymond (Wing Commander/Air Commodore in later books,"
"officer rather than a pilot: his final rank was Flying Officer (equivalent to Lieutenant in the RFC) rather than the ""Captain"" he later claimed as part of his pen name. While the purpose of the Biggles stories was to entertain adolescent boys, in the First World War stories Johns paid attention to historical detail and helped recreate the primitive days of early air combat, when pilots often died in their first combat and before devices such as pilot's oxygen supply and parachutes had become practical. Various models on which the Biggles character might have been based have been suggested, including"
"significantly in ""Biggles follows on"" (1952) http://www.gimlet.co Captain Lorrington ""Gimlet"" King Captain Lorrington ""Gimlet"" King is a character created by the British author W.E. Johns, best known as the creator of Biggles and Worrals. The name 'Gimlet' is derived from a sharp implement resulting in a term for someone with keen eyesight. Johns is thought to have been inspired by Major 'Gimlet' Champion, one of his commanding officers during his flying career. The rest of the name may have been inspired by South African soldier and adventurer William Lorraine King who died shortly before the first novel was published. The"
"to the Sopwith Camel aeroplane), was published in August 1932 and Johns would continue to write Biggles stories until his death in 1968. At first, the Biggles stories were credited to ""William Earle"", but later Johns adopted the more familiar ""Capt. W. E. Johns"". While his apparent final RAF rank of flying officer was equivalent to an army (or RFC) lieutenant, captain is commonly used for the commander of a vessel or aircraft. Johns was also a regular contributor to ""Modern Boy"" magazine in the late 1930s as well as editing (and writing for) both ""Popular Flying"" and ""Flying"". From"
"factual books, including several books on aviation, books on pirates and treasure hunting, and a book on gardening, ""The Passing Show"". Unusually among children's writers of the time, from 1935 Johns employed a working-class character as an equal member of the Biggles team – ""Ginger"" Habblethwaite, later Hebblethwaite, the son of a Northumberland miner. However, readers never learn his real Christian name, and he proclaims himself a Yorkshireman once or twice. W. E. Johns died on 21 June 1968 in his 76th year. Shortly before his death he was writing the final Biggles story, entitled ""Biggles does some Homework"", which"
"forming a close friendship with his young cousin Algy (the Hon. Algernon Montgomery Lacey). A study of the short stories featuring his First World War 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. After the Great War, Biggles' adventures as a freelance charter pilot, took him around the world in an unidentified amphibian named the ""Vandal"" (often illustrated on covers, anachronistically, as either a Supermarine Walrus or Supermarine Sea Otter). The nearest ""real"" aircraft that fits W. E."
"Francis Bergèse was still around, but as good as he was an illustrator, he was no writer, especially not of the skill level expected for the Buck Danny series. By now however, at the age of 48 Bergèse had found his calling in drawing aviation comics, so in 1990 he took on a comic book adaptation of ""that other famous aviation ace"" Biggles for ""Tintin"" magazine. At that time, the 'Biggles' adventure books by W. E. Johns were well known in Belgium and France, but as Johns had died in 1968, no new material meant no younger fans. For Bergèse,"
"reflecting the creation of the Royal Air Force with its own ranks), who is already involved with the intelligence side of operations. Biggles is accompanied by his cousin Algernon ('Algy') Lacey and his mechanic Flight Sergeant Smyth, who are to 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 First World War pilot, although his own career did not parallel that of Biggles particularly closely. The author's initial war service was as an infantryman, fighting at Gallipoli and on the Macedonian front. He was"
"recruiting officer Flying Officer W. E. Johns, later known as the author of the Biggles series of novels. Johns rejected Lawrence's application as he correctly believed that ""Ross"" was a false name. Lawrence admitted that this was so and that the documents he had provided were false. He left, but returned some time later with an RAF messenger, who carried a written order that Johns must accept Lawrence. However, Lawrence was forced out of the RAF in February 1923 after his identity was exposed. He changed his name to T. E. Shaw and joined the Royal Tank Corps later that"
"87 published on 14 October 1939, before production ceased due to wartime paper shortages. ""The Modern Boy"" was well known for the stories published in it, notably the works of W. E. Johns famous as the creator of Biggles. Johns initially painted the cover artwork for issue 98 and went on to submit other cover paintings and articles. His first signed article was published in issue number 148 (dated 6 December 1930) and was called ""The Plane Smashers"", but it is believed that he wrote articles earlier as ""Our Air Expert"". From issue 257, Johns's 'Biggles' stories were published and"
"exotic to European readers. The Worrals series was very successful in the UK (published by the Lutterworth Press) and France (Presse de la Cite) and translated into several other languages. Most titles included line illustrations by the British artist Leslie Stead. The first three Worrals books were republished in 2013 by IndieBooks with new illustrations by US graphic novelist Matt Kindt. There were three short stories featuring Worrals written by Johns: Worrals Flight Officer Joan Worralson, better known as ""Worrals"", is a fictional character created by W. E. Johns, more famous for his series of books about the airman Biggles."
"each adventure ending in a cliff hanger with the viewers told to tune in next week for more daring adventures. Biggles (TV series) Biggles was a 1960s television series based on the ""Biggles"" series of books by W.E. Johns. Neville Whiting played the title role. There were 44 black and white episodes of 30 minutes (including adverts), which were made by Granada Television and ran from 1 April till 12 October 1960. Biggles was a Detective Air Inspector attached to Scotland Yard. Helping him was Ginger (John Leyton) and Bertie (David Drummond) and they fought against villains like von Stalhein"
"member of the WAAF. A further Johns creation, the commando Captain Lorrington ""Gimlet"" King, also features in a series of books that intersect with Biggles at times. The settings of the Biggles books are spread over more than 50 years; this produces a number of credibility difficulties, especially for older readers. It seems fair to comment that W. E. Johns' approach contrasts markedly from that of J. R. R. Tolkien's intentions to create a ""body of more or less connected legend"". Though Biggles and his friends age in the books, they do so much more slowly (and inconsistently) than is"
"there was 60 issues with stories about Biggles by W. E. Johns, and in the 1960s occasional contributors included Isaac Asimov and the respected astronomer Patrick Moore. Many contributors to ""The Girls Own Paper"" were not known outside the paper's pages but they also included Noel Streatfeild, Eleanor Hoyt Brainerd, Rosa Nouchette Carey, Sarah Doudney (1841–1926), Angela Brazil, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Richmal Crompton, Fanny Fern, and Baroness Orczy. Between 1940–47 Captain W. E. Johns contributed sixty stories featuring the female pilot Worrals. The ""Eagle"" was a popular British comic for boys, launched in 1950 by Marcus Morris, an Anglican vicar"
"Aeronautical Production and in 1939 was for a short time AOC No 42 (Maintenance) Group. Arthur Wellesley Bigsworth died on 24 February 1961. It has been claimed that W. E. Johns based some aspects of his fictional hero Biggles (surname Bigglesworth) on the real-life Bigsworth, with whom he had worked at the Air Ministry. Bigsworth had already experimented with night flying, using two 4V lamps attached to his aircraft and no doubt called on this experience on 17 May 1915, when he managed to climb his Avro 504 above Zeppelin LZ39 over Ostend and drop four 20 lb bombs on"
"of RAAF planes led to his earning the nickname ""Biggles"", after Captain W. E. Johns's fictional aviation hero – a self-inflicted wound, following his remark to journalists at the time 'whatever you do, don't call me Biggles'. This incident also led to Evans coining the expression 'streaker's defence' (i.e. 'it seemed like a good idea at the time), which has entered the Australian vocabulary. More serious controversy surrounded the Government's handling of national security issues including the Combe-Ivanov affair and the attempted suppression of publication of leaked documents by journalist Brian Toohey, and the allegations of impropriety made against High"
"adaptations of the Biggles adventures written by W. E. Johns between 1932 and 1968, slavishly following the plot of the books. This even went so far that in the second album The Pirates of the South Pole Bergèse wrote a foreword where he apologized for having to draw polar bears in the Antarctic because the original book mentioned them. In 1994 however, while Bergèse was working on Buck Danny, Lombard gave the series to author Michel Oleffe and artist Eric Loutte. In a radical departure to the series Oleffe produced The Flight of the Wallenstein, an adventure written entirely by"
"Norwegian vessel in 1180. The Royal Flying Corps had a landing strip and schools in Marske. 'Captain' W. E. Johns, the author of the Biggles books, was posted to RFC Marske during part of the First World War, from April until August 1918. The Bristol M1C Monoplane, ""The Red Devil"", was first flown from this RFC aerodrome. The RAF later administered an airfield here. After the Second World War the site of the aerodrome became an ICI depot and later a housing estate, The Landings, with roads named on an aeronautical theme: Avro Close, Blackburn Grove, De Havilland Drive –"
"""Biggles Flies East"" in May 1942) and the Brockhampton Press published Johns' Gimlet books from 1947. From 1953 Brockhampton Press would also publish Biggles books, alternating with Hodder & Stoughton and Captain W. E. Johns remained with them until his death in 1968, with the last Hodder & Stoughton Biggles book appearing in August 1965 and the last Brockhampton Press Biggles book appearing in July 1970. Hodder & Stoughton also published some of Johns' Worrals books. Hodder & Stoughton eventually published 35 Biggles first editions and Brockhampton Press published a further 29 Biggles first editions. In 1953 they published Sir"
"4 'School of Fighting' in Frensham, Lincolnshire. Posted to France with under 15 hours, dual and 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 F.E.2b ""pusher"" and later the Bristol F2B. In late summer 1917, he was transferred to 266 Squadron RFC, commanded by a Dubliner, Major Mullen. With 266 Squadron, Biggles flew the Sopwith Pup and the famed Sopwith Camel, developing a friendly rivalry with 'Wilks' (Captain Wilkinson) and the S.E.5s of 287 squadron and"
"doubtful whether a careful rearrangement of the various First World War stories could result in a coherent sequence. When W. E. Johns started the Biggles series, he can hardly have anticipated that he would be called on to write so many Biggles stories to short editorial deadlines, so that such inconsistencies are perhaps inevitable. The author succeeds reasonably well in chronicling developments in aviation technology, but social and cultural changes are much more difficult. The cultural and social world of Biggles (whether in the 1930s or some earlier period) does not persist completely unchanged through the whole series – for"
"Norfolk. When Biggles, now an adult, visits Dickpa, his father's brother, again, an adventure begins that takes both men to Brazil. Biggles then attended Malton Hall School in Hertbury, England. His first encounter with an aircraft was with a Blériot that landed on the school cricket ground. 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, Norfolk, flying solo after two hours of instruction. He then attended No."
"Biggles (TV series) Biggles was a 1960s television series based on the ""Biggles"" series of books by W.E. Johns. Neville Whiting played the title role. There were 44 black and white episodes of 30 minutes (including adverts), which were made by Granada Television and ran from 1 April till 12 October 1960. Biggles was a Detective Air Inspector attached to Scotland Yard. Helping him was Ginger (John Leyton) and Bertie (David Drummond) and they fought against villains like von Stalhein (Carl Duering). Aimed at a younger audience there was plenty of action, excitement, death traps and even some flying with"
"penned over 160 books, including nearly one hundred Biggles books, more than sixty other novels and factual books, and scores of magazine articles and short stories. His first novel, ""Mossyface"", was published in 1922 under the pen name ""William Earle"". After leaving the RAF, Johns became a newspaper air correspondent, as well as editing and illustrating books about flying. At the request of John Hamilton Ltd, he created the magazine ""Popular Flying"" which first appeared in March 1932. It was in the pages of ""Popular Flying"" that Biggles first appeared. The first Biggles book, ""The Camels are Coming"" (a reference"
"Biggles' flight in 266 Squadron by the influence of his aunt. Despite initial misgivings, the two soon become very close friends and eventually Algy adopts the role of Biggles' second in command. In the books set in the 1930s, Algy, Ginger and Smyth become Biggles' regular companions. Algy starts off in the books as an irresponsible youngster but later on as he ages he becomes more sarcastic and pessimistic. Ginger (his real forename 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"