Biggles in Spain

Biggles #17

by W.E. Johns

Red Fox 1st edition paperback

Genres: Fiction, Adventure, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Spanish Civil War, Historical

208 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1939

About the author

Invariably 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.

Reviews

[James Kemp · Rating 4 out of 5]

picked it up for a pound in a charity shop. Surprised to find that it stood up to the passing of time. Written towards the end of the Spanish Civil War during which it is set it still reads as a good story. A bit boys own in places, but it is Biggles and that's what it is. Got a good feel for the history which is partly through being practically contemporaneous with the events it described. Well worth reading.

[Sem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ginger in Spain would be nearer the mark.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Biggles book finished! An excellent peek into war and the dangers of unintentionally being recruited to spying.

[Dakshesh Thacker · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 2020, I have decided to revisit teen fiction in greater detail especially the Biggles series. This particular escapade of the trio of pilots is definitely a faster and more addictive read compared to Biggles defies the Swastika.
Starting in the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War there are two clear highlights of the book apart from the regular relay of riveting set pieces. First, at least half the book focuses on the adventures of Biggles' protege Ginger. The situations he finds himself and gets out of form the backbone of the plot. The second is the intelligent weaving in of side characters to further the plot and playing pivotal roles in the climax of the story.
Johns brings out the variety in the language spoken by each of the characters based on their backgrounds, lending authenticity to the character creation.
The highlight set piece for me was Ginger's experience in the trenches and a near heroic rescue of a pilot in the middle of enemy fire. (Indian readers who have watched the movie Border may find some similarities with a scene from the movie)
Overall a fast read, anyone looking for a mental excursion into an adventure escapade can knock down in a few hours of dedicated reading. Would also surely come in the top half of the Biggles books.

[David Varley-Doran · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first Biggles I've read if you discount the movie novelization years ago.

It was enjoyable enough, but although almost every chapter brings a new adventurous calamity for our heroes, there is zero sense of even mild peril.

The guys go through jailbreaks, frontline fighting, kidnapping, fistfights and aerial dogfights but none of it ever leaves a mark. By the final third this causes it to start to drag.

This book, 17 of 20, mainly concentrates on Ginger the kid of the group and Biggles spends a lot of time off screen.

I'd read another in a pinch, but can't recommend grabbing it and it hasn't made me want to drive into the series.

[Edwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Een andere favoriet. Het eerste dat ik ooit uit deze serie las.

Biggles, Ginger en Algy maken een reis per schip, omdat dit rustgevend zou werken. Na een paar dagen op zee wordt het Griekse vrachtschip waar op zij vaten door vliegtuigen van Franco gebombardeerd en moeten de drie zich zwemmend zien te redden.
Na vele uren in het water bereiken ze het vaste land van Spanje, en dan begint het avontuur pas echt goed.

[Budge Burgess · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, so Biggles books are aimed at teenage and pre-teenage English public schoolboys and they are terribly, terribly English. And they are, of course, not to be taken seriously, they're comic book adventures for a juvenile audience, they're the product of a certain age - this one first saw publication in 1939, with war very clearly in the air. Books of a different era - no swearing or bad language, the odd bit of racist language ... and everybody smokes, a manly thing to do donchaknow, and I'm sure lots of young readers enjoyed a first Capstan or Players or Woodbine while reading Biggles tales.
I'm reading Biggles books because I first read a handful of them in the early 1960s and it's definitely nostalgia time.
But this one really annoyed me. Biggles and crew find themselves sunk by a Fascist plane off the coast of Catalonia, get to shore, walk to Barcelona, walk into a bar, meet an old colleague and get involved in espionage. (Biggles stories rely on ridiculous coincidences, bumping into people out of the blue, etc., and this will happen several times in this tale ... several times.)
So, with war imminent, and the likelihood England will once again fighting Germany, this tale has Biggles pitting his wits against both Franco's Fascists (armed and supported by Hitler and Mussolini) and the legitimate government of Spain (which Stalin's Soviet Union backed but England and France abandoned ... but thousands of men and women from around the world joined the International Brigades to fight the Fascists). Anyone want to guess where my sympathies lie?
Well, there's very little about this book which reflects the realities of the situation. The characters struggle to become even one-dimensional. And one of them is Scottish! And he's called 'Jock'! And he speaks pigeon Scots which set my teeth on edge - I'm Scottish if you hadn't guessed. One or two characters use the occassional Spanish word (to remind us we're in Spain), otherwise there's nothing in the book which in any way reflects the realities of the Spanish Civil War and the political and military situation. It's absurd.
And we get a hideous king and country ending - makes you want to stand up and sing "There'll always be an England ... !" Dire, but I bet there are still a few 11 year olds who have not studied any history olds who'll enjoy it.

[Tommy Verhaegen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Het verhaal begint op een schip, een vrachtvaarder onderweg naar Athene. Er wordt veel gewandeld, met een auto gereden en zelfs met een motor. Maar het zal tot flink over de helft van het boek duren voor er, na het lekschieten van het schip, opnieuw vliegtuigen aan te pas komen.
Dit boek is een lang ren-voor-je-leven verhaal waarbij Biggles en zijn kompanen meerdere keren opgepakt worden, ter dood veroordeeld en weer kunnen ontsnappen. Vooral Ginger speelt een glansrol. Hij wordt tegen heug en meug ingelijfd bij het Spaanse vreemdelingenlegioen dat tegen Franco strijdt en moet deelnemen aan de strijd. Daar redt hij het leven van een neergestorte piloot en dat betekent het begin van de redding.
Haast van elke bladzijde druipt de spanning en het doodsgevaar af. Opvallend is dat Johns in de burgeroorlog geen partij kiest. Heel veel erg spannende aktiescenes, zodat er niet zo veel plaats overblijft voor dialogen, verklaringen of achtergrondinformatie. Hoewel de we makkelijke de typische schrijfstijl van Johns herkennen is er toch minder plaats voor humor in dit boek. Al blijft die, plus een algemeen positief gevoel, wel aanwezig.
Het is een typisch jongensboek van 60 jaar geleden toen de slechten nog dood mochten gaan en van woke nog geen sprake was. Een topper, zeker voor wil al een Biggles fan is.

[Robert Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glorious fun with wonderful, outrageously broad Cockney & Scottish heroes alongside our usual comrades in flight.
To that end - a more accurate title would be Ginger in Spain, as dear old Biggles - as often as not incapacitated or incarcerated in this one - is a special guest star in his own story. Still top fun. And read in Spain - while working a cruise. Slightly disconcerting that Biggles and his chums start the adventure on a sea voyage - for his health - and are prompted bombed from the skies before the close of the first chapter. Chocks Away!

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

"...it's just because any Britisher would do what we've done that the old Empire goes on." And with a rousing chorus of Rule Britannia they hail a cab and head to the Cafe Royal, to toast their safe return to Old Blighty and the successful conclusion of another tussle with those shifty foreigners. The sun might still have been shining on the Old Empire then, but little did Biggles realise just how close to setting it was!

[Henrik Warne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another nostalgic read. I know I read this growing up, but I remembered absolutely nothing. But I can see why I liked the Biggles books: it's non-stop action and adventure, in this case set in Spain during the civil war. A sunk ship, spies, an important secret letter that most reach London, daring escapes, and of course a lot of flying. Ginger is the main character in this story, and even though it only takes a few hours to finish, it's quite good.

[Naomi McCullough · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far one of my top-favorite Biggles adventures! It had a lot of dry humor, and wild adventure in rather the style of a Tintin book.
A quote I enjoyed that summed up the spirit of this story: "That is always one advantage of being absolutely desperate: you take chances which otherwise would sound awful. When nothing you can do make things worse, it really saves you a lot of worry."

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of Biggles best or most believable adventures that starts with him taking a cruise with Algy & Ginger to recover from a fever ; & ends up with them getting involved in the Spanish civil war.
I'm glad I read it, but I'm afraid I'll easily forget this adventure .

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant adventure spy story, with some historical education about the Spanish Civil War thrown in. I think I preferred the first half of the novel because they're not flying - this is the first book where the first and second acts occur without ever jumping in a plane, and it's a breath of fresh air. When aeroplanes are introduced later, it starts to repeat threads from previous stories. Fun and different, 4 stars.

[Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saw another reviewer label this as "Ginger in Spain" being more of an appropriate title and had to chuckle. It would indeed, but I think that's what I loved about it. Smashing read, one of the best in the Biggles series!

[Tom Caswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another superb Biggles story. Spoiler: there isn’t a bad one.

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic Biggles adventure. Reading this brought back lots of memories of listening to this story over and over again as an audio book on cassette as a kid!

[Andy Gore · Rating 5 out of 5]

As ever a cracking yarn!!

[Noah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good stuff as always

[Mathew Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tale of many twists. Only the interest part is that the supporting character, not the main one , moves the story forward.

[Leo Davies · Rating 2 out of 5]

Biggles in Spain, reader in pain. Very, very silly.

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.”

[Brian Gormley · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7 out of 5.
No, chaps,' he said, as they walked slowly towards the exit, 'it's just because any Britisher would do what we've done that the old Empire goes on.’

That gives you a flavor of the style in this book. It’s all unflappable public school boys, Boys Own type stories, stiff upper lips, and putting one over on Johnny Foreigner.

That said, it’s all rather enjoyable. After spending months wading through a depressing, unreadable tome on climate breakdown, I flew through this in one night!

It’s an interesting perspective on the Spanish Civil War. It was written in 1939, by which time the vicious, warmongering nature of fascism was more visible. Biggles ends up on the Republican side against Franco, but several times he mentions that he has no interest in taking sides in another country’s war. Irishmen fought on both sides in this war - those that joined Franco’s side were recruited by propaganda that the Republicans were anti the Catholic Church.

If you ignore the improbable coincidences, incredible luck, and apparently superhuman powers of the characters (they emerge unscathed from bullets, bombs and several plane crashes) then it’s a very enjoyable, fun read.

[Cold War Conversations Podcast · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining Boys Own Spanish Civil War yarn

I havn't read Biggles in many years, not since I was at school, so with my interest in the Spanish Civil War I thought I'd give this one a go.

As with returning to many things from childhood there is an element of disappointment. Whilst I accept it's a vintage book, the writing style does jar with what I'm used to and does feel very 1950s'. I'm not sure a modern child of school age would find this as much fun as I obviously did at the time.

As you'd expect the story rocks along at quite a pace with various close scrapes and seemingly impossible problems. As one reviewer has notes it's more like Ginger in Spain, as Biggles doesn't feature too extensively in this book. It relatively accurately covers the opposing sides in the SCW and is an entertaining diversion for a few hours from some of my heavier tomes.

[Salome · Rating 5 out of 5]

Courage and action requiring whole men and saving in the last moment. Biggles puts on a uniform again, though in this case one could say that just by an accident, and goes stright into a spy adventure, where even he himself doesn't know on which side he is.

Odvaha a akce vyžadující celé muže a záchranu v posledním okamžiku. Biggles opět navléká uniformu, i když v tomto případě by se dalo říci, že zcela omylem, a pouští se do špionážního dobrodružství, v němž si ani sám není jistý, na čí straně vlastně stojí.

[Daniel Bratell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biggles with Algy and Ginger find themselves swimming to Spain, ending up in the civil war among spies and airplanes.

The most notable thing about the book is that it doesn't really pick sides. I would have expected an anti-nationalist story, but it tries quite hard to be neutral.

[Micah Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

However unrealistic this adventure is, it doesn't make it any less awesome. I love how Ginger is a lot more involved as a singular hero, rather than just following Biggles all the time and not making any vital decisions.