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Biggles #11
Biggles in Africa
In Afrika gaat Biggles op zoek naar een verdwenen miljonairszoontje en daarbij stuit hij op een bende niets ontziende schurken. Zal hij hun slachtoffer worden?
248 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1936
1 person is currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
W.E. Johns
613 books113 followersInvariably known as Captain W.E. Johns, William Earl Johns was born in Bengeo, Hertfordshire, England. He was the son of Richard Eastman Johns, a tailor, and Elizabeth Johns (née Earl), the daughter of a master butcher. He had a younger brother, Russell Ernest Johns, who was born on 24 October 1895.
He went to Hertford Grammar School where he was no great scholar but he did develop into a crack shot with a rifle. This fired his early ambition to be a soldier. He also attended evening classes at the local art school.
In the summer of 1907 he was apprenticed to a county municipal surveyor where he remained for four years and then in 1912 he became a sanitary inspector in Swaffham, Norfolk. Soon after taking up this appointment, his father died of tuberculosis at the age of 47.
On 6 October 1914 he married Maude Penelope Hunt (1882–1961), the daughter of the Reverend John Hunt, the vicar at Little Dunham in Norfolk. The couple had one son, William Earl Carmichael Johns, who was born in March 1916.
With war looming he joined the Territorial Army as a Private in the King's Own Royal Regiment (Norfolk Yeomanry), a cavalry regiment. In August 1914 his regiment was mobilised and was in training and on home defence duties until September 1915 when they received embarkation orders for duty overseas.
He fought at Gallipoli and in the Suez Canal area and, after moving to the Machine gun Corps, he took part in the spring offensive in Salonika in April 1917. He contracted malaria and whilst in hospital he put in for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps and on 26 September 1917, he was given a temporary commission as a Second Lieutenant and posted back to England to learn to fly, which he did at No. 1 School of Aeronautics at Reading, where he was taught by a Captain Ashton.
He was posted to No. 25 Flying Training School at Thetford where he had a charmed existence, once writing off three planes in three days. He moved to Yorkshire and was then posted to France and while on a bombing raid to Mannheim his plane was shot down and he was wounded. Captured by the Germans, he later escaped before being reincarcerated where he remained until the war ended.
He went to Hertford Grammar School where he was no great scholar but he did develop into a crack shot with a rifle. This fired his early ambition to be a soldier. He also attended evening classes at the local art school.
In the summer of 1907 he was apprenticed to a county municipal surveyor where he remained for four years and then in 1912 he became a sanitary inspector in Swaffham, Norfolk. Soon after taking up this appointment, his father died of tuberculosis at the age of 47.
On 6 October 1914 he married Maude Penelope Hunt (1882–1961), the daughter of the Reverend John Hunt, the vicar at Little Dunham in Norfolk. The couple had one son, William Earl Carmichael Johns, who was born in March 1916.
With war looming he joined the Territorial Army as a Private in the King's Own Royal Regiment (Norfolk Yeomanry), a cavalry regiment. In August 1914 his regiment was mobilised and was in training and on home defence duties until September 1915 when they received embarkation orders for duty overseas.
He fought at Gallipoli and in the Suez Canal area and, after moving to the Machine gun Corps, he took part in the spring offensive in Salonika in April 1917. He contracted malaria and whilst in hospital he put in for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps and on 26 September 1917, he was given a temporary commission as a Second Lieutenant and posted back to England to learn to fly, which he did at No. 1 School of Aeronautics at Reading, where he was taught by a Captain Ashton.
He was posted to No. 25 Flying Training School at Thetford where he had a charmed existence, once writing off three planes in three days. He moved to Yorkshire and was then posted to France and while on a bombing raid to Mannheim his plane was shot down and he was wounded. Captured by the Germans, he later escaped before being reincarcerated where he remained until the war ended.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 11, 2016
Biggles is asked by a distraught father to find his son, who has been missing somewhere in Africa for a year. The young man had undertaken a London to the Cape flight in an attempt to break the record for the journey but he and his aircraft had gone missing somewhere between Malakal and Juba.
Always ready for a challenge, Biggles agrees to the assignment and, with his pals Algy and Ginger, he sets out to investigate. He decides on a plan of action and touching down in Malakal, he begins his enquiries. But what he discovers leads him into all sorts of difficulties with European settlers in the veldt as well as with the natives and with the wild life that proliferates in the area ... and there is still no sign of young Harry Marton.
Nearly blown up by land mines, attacked by a tiger and a giant snake, captured by a warrior African tribe, stranded in the desert, his plane shot to pieces and himself almost shot by a shady European, he still manages to overcome all difficulties and eventually work out what has happened and where young Marton was being held captive. Marton is duly rescued and returned to his grateful father who gives Biggles the reward that was originally offered. This allows Biggles, Algy and Ginger to sit back and relax and await the next assignment.
It is all extremely exciting stuff in the usual Biggles way and a book not to be missed. It is just a pity that the schoolchildren of today don't read Biggles!
Always ready for a challenge, Biggles agrees to the assignment and, with his pals Algy and Ginger, he sets out to investigate. He decides on a plan of action and touching down in Malakal, he begins his enquiries. But what he discovers leads him into all sorts of difficulties with European settlers in the veldt as well as with the natives and with the wild life that proliferates in the area ... and there is still no sign of young Harry Marton.
Nearly blown up by land mines, attacked by a tiger and a giant snake, captured by a warrior African tribe, stranded in the desert, his plane shot to pieces and himself almost shot by a shady European, he still manages to overcome all difficulties and eventually work out what has happened and where young Marton was being held captive. Marton is duly rescued and returned to his grateful father who gives Biggles the reward that was originally offered. This allows Biggles, Algy and Ginger to sit back and relax and await the next assignment.
It is all extremely exciting stuff in the usual Biggles way and a book not to be missed. It is just a pity that the schoolchildren of today don't read Biggles!
September 3, 2020
Africa again which again means that you have to have oversight with how the British W. E. Johns saw life in Africa in the 1930s. It's not awful but there are some cringe-worthy statements.
The story here is that Biggles, Algy and Ginger are bored in London when a rich businessman approaches them to find his missing son. They go to Africa and fall into a nefarious plot.
It's a fair book, but I'm getting tired of all the wildlife trying to kill them.
The story here is that Biggles, Algy and Ginger are bored in London when a rich businessman approaches them to find his missing son. They go to Africa and fall into a nefarious plot.
It's a fair book, but I'm getting tired of all the wildlife trying to kill them.
June 25, 2021
Ook nu weer een paar uur genoten van de avonturen van Biggles, Ginger en Algy.
January 12, 2021
Wat een aangename verrassing. Voer voor discussie, maar dit is zeker 1 van de beste Biggles avonturen ooit. Johns heeft hier absoluut raak getroffen met de mix van avontuur en de Afrikaanse couleur locole. De reactie van onze Britse helden op de woeste natuur (neushoorn, krokodillen en leeuwen maar ook de muggen) is meesterlijk en o zo levensecht beschreven.
Uiteraard moet een en ander bekeken worden in het licht van zijn tijd, zoals het gebruik van het woord "ni kk er" wat destijds doodnormaal was, de vliegtuigen van vlak na de wereldoorlog, de gebrekkige communicatie enz.
Super spannend, tjokvol aktie, mensselijke emotie en doorspekt met een flinke dosis humor en zelfrelativatie. Geen van de karakters is een superman, maar ze doen hun uiterste best om hun vrienden niet in de steek te laten en tonen de bekende Britse "tough upper lip".
Uiteraard moet een en ander bekeken worden in het licht van zijn tijd, zoals het gebruik van het woord "ni kk er" wat destijds doodnormaal was, de vliegtuigen van vlak na de wereldoorlog, de gebrekkige communicatie enz.
Super spannend, tjokvol aktie, mensselijke emotie en doorspekt met een flinke dosis humor en zelfrelativatie. Geen van de karakters is een superman, maar ze doen hun uiterste best om hun vrienden niet in de steek te laten en tonen de bekende Britse "tough upper lip".
March 31, 2024
Always having to give books a diffinutive rating stresses me out a little bit. I'm giving this five stars because I loved it, but I'm well aware it's not a perfect book, I may have enjoyed others more whilst giving them lower rankings. Is there some sort of way of keeping my scoring system consistent? Does it require constantly going back and re-evaluating old ratings - but that wouldn't be fair as time would have distorted my feelings. Does it require creating a ratings criteria? Maybe that would work, but this is supposed to be fun and not something that niggles at the back of my mind whilst I'm reading. Stress seems to permeate everything I do - when all I want is to enjoy a bit of Biggles trying to escape from the jaws of a ravenous crocodile. 5 stars.
March 20, 2018
B07 Bit of a thin story. Clearly written in an era long, long ago.
Colonialism was still defacto standard, and the attitude towards people born in Africa....
Did anyone else noticed that the author considered worth half a page on a note what hashish is
Colonialism was still defacto standard, and the attitude towards people born in Africa....
Did anyone else noticed that the author considered worth half a page on a note what hashish is
July 26, 2021
A wild adventure story in Africa. Very action packed and fast paced with Biggles & Co. always getting out of danger in the nick of time.
December 22, 2025
I am reviewing the series as a whole, rather than the books individually
The Biggles series is great adventure fiction: we get high stakes, aerial action (in most of the books), and a hero who is endlessly loyal, competent, and calm under pressure.
I love the dogfights, recon missions, and wartime scenarios.
Where the series falls short is character depth. Some attitudes and simplifications reflect the period in which the books were written. There are very definitely dated elements, but considering the era the books were written - overall the series performs well. More than a few of the stories defy plausibility, but who doesn't love to curl up with a good adventure book or 10?
“Never say die.”
The Biggles series is great adventure fiction: we get high stakes, aerial action (in most of the books), and a hero who is endlessly loyal, competent, and calm under pressure.
I love the dogfights, recon missions, and wartime scenarios.
Where the series falls short is character depth. Some attitudes and simplifications reflect the period in which the books were written. There are very definitely dated elements, but considering the era the books were written - overall the series performs well. More than a few of the stories defy plausibility, but who doesn't love to curl up with a good adventure book or 10?
“Never say die.”
September 29, 2012
This is the first Biggles book that I've ever read. I remember them in the library when I was a kid but they never really caught my attention. So it's quite unusual that I decided to have a go at one as an adult. This was first published in the 60's I believe. I would have LOVED this as a young reader.
I threw this book onto my phone and read it in between my regular reading during downtime at work over about 3 months. It was a very easy book to come back to after being away from it for days or even weeks. The plot is pretty straightforward and the characters easy to grasp and this makes for a nice story, albeit a little 'juvenile'. I gather that this is the target audience, however.
I found the story really fun. Three jovial friends heading off to Africa to rescue the lost son of a wealthy gentleman. There are aeroplane rides, fierce savages, rampaging rhinos, snarling lions and a host of other neat predicaments the chaps find themselves in, all the while keeping the true British 'stiff upper lip'.
I also found the 'non-political-correctness' quite refreshing as I often think we live in a crazy world in this regard. There is no disrespect intended as this is how things were back in the days when this story is set. Check this out:
Biggles’ eyes glinted and his lips came together in a tight line. "You insolent rascal; you talk to me like that and I’ll thrash the skin off your back. Be off, and sharp’s the word!"
And:
"WHAT happened to those niggers at the finish?’" asked Biggles as the machine ran to a standstill on aerodrome.
Absolute gold. It's phrasing like this that make it such innocent fun and a real giggle in places.
A great story (if predictable) and fun characters. I've given it a rating based on what the story is and who it's written for.
I'm glad I read it and I'll be sure to read some more Biggles in between the more serious reading.
I threw this book onto my phone and read it in between my regular reading during downtime at work over about 3 months. It was a very easy book to come back to after being away from it for days or even weeks. The plot is pretty straightforward and the characters easy to grasp and this makes for a nice story, albeit a little 'juvenile'. I gather that this is the target audience, however.
I found the story really fun. Three jovial friends heading off to Africa to rescue the lost son of a wealthy gentleman. There are aeroplane rides, fierce savages, rampaging rhinos, snarling lions and a host of other neat predicaments the chaps find themselves in, all the while keeping the true British 'stiff upper lip'.
I also found the 'non-political-correctness' quite refreshing as I often think we live in a crazy world in this regard. There is no disrespect intended as this is how things were back in the days when this story is set. Check this out:
Biggles’ eyes glinted and his lips came together in a tight line. "You insolent rascal; you talk to me like that and I’ll thrash the skin off your back. Be off, and sharp’s the word!"
And:
"WHAT happened to those niggers at the finish?’" asked Biggles as the machine ran to a standstill on aerodrome.
Absolute gold. It's phrasing like this that make it such innocent fun and a real giggle in places.
A great story (if predictable) and fun characters. I've given it a rating based on what the story is and who it's written for.
I'm glad I read it and I'll be sure to read some more Biggles in between the more serious reading.
May 5, 2011
My very fist Biggles I read in Dutch translation (yearly box of presents send down to "Afrika" at Sinterklaas) found it great don't remember about 'good' but it was a sensational read, because childrens' literature in in Afrikaans was very boring and mostly 'educational' and bogged down with good morals. After that I found Biggles in English, and that started me off in a whole new world of reading. So I remember this one with fondness....most proably not worth 4 stars, but what the heck.
January 20, 2013
Kniha mě velmi zaujala. Má poutavý děj s dobrodružstvím na každé stránce a vlastně do posledního řádku se nenudíte. Toto je 11. díl série povídek o Bigglesovi a jeho dobrodružstvích, takže vám doporučuji i další díly, protože jsou určitě stejně skvělé. ;)
PS: jediné mínus pro mě je, že je kniha celkem krátká...
PS: jediné mínus pro mě je, že je kniha celkem krátká...
April 15, 2013
Not my favourite W.E. Johns' book by a long shot. These desert books are so not up my alley. A lot of hiking, dying of thirst and getting attacked by animals. Oh, and all that racism really irked me.
Ginger is getting good at killing people by accident.
Ginger is getting good at killing people by accident.
August 13, 2014
One of my favourite Biggles books. I enjoyed very much how, when situation became sinister, the pilots faced it with severe faces and jokes on their lips.
September 12, 2014
Black mambas, insolent half-naked savages with assegais, and Biggles' never-ending search for petrol. That pretty much sums it up.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews