What do you think?
Rate this book
Biggles Adventure Double: Biggles Learns to Fly & Biggles the Camels are Coming: WWI Omnibus Edition
BIGGLES LEARNS TO FLY
Age just seventeen and with almost no flying experience, James Bigglesworth is sent to tackle the enemy in the hostile skies over First World War France. In a drama of war, where instinct and fast reactions are everything, Biggles must learn to be a real fighter pilot, or die. But does he have what it takes?
BIGGLES THE CAMELS ARE COMING
Fighting high above the trenches of First World War France Biggles knows he needs more than just flying skills to survive against the Sopwith Camel - a demon to fly, but incredibly fast in a dogfight, it commands fierce loyalty from its pilot. Will Biggles' luck and initiative be enough to keep him alive?
Age just seventeen and with almost no flying experience, James Bigglesworth is sent to tackle the enemy in the hostile skies over First World War France. In a drama of war, where instinct and fast reactions are everything, Biggles must learn to be a real fighter pilot, or die. But does he have what it takes?
BIGGLES THE CAMELS ARE COMING
Fighting high above the trenches of First World War France Biggles knows he needs more than just flying skills to survive against the Sopwith Camel - a demon to fly, but incredibly fast in a dogfight, it commands fierce loyalty from its pilot. Will Biggles' luck and initiative be enough to keep him alive?
412 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 25, 2012
14 people are currently reading
28 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 22, 2019
Rating between 3 & 3.5
Collection of 2 very early giggles novels set in the latter half of WW1
Despite the age these were good reads I thought.
Some repetition could be seen in the stories but I wonder if that is because they were originally short stories rather than a collection.
Overall good read taking me back to a character I read a long time ago.
Collection of 2 very early giggles novels set in the latter half of WW1
Despite the age these were good reads I thought.
Some repetition could be seen in the stories but I wonder if that is because they were originally short stories rather than a collection.
Overall good read taking me back to a character I read a long time ago.
August 24, 2019
An enjoyable read even though I must have read these books 65 years ago. This early Biggles seems to lack the team player role he has in later books. Learnt many facts about WW1 that I didn’t know or didn’t remember. Had me reaching for the reference books and WW1 maps.
September 6, 2018
Bru did I get to my grandmas
Hi am that you are a good night at school and today I am so sorry to be a long one
Hi am that you are a good night at school and today I am so sorry to be a long one
December 29, 2019
Good wholesome fun
Wholesome reading. Back to the classics where woke culture didn’t ruin the industry. Boggle is a timeless classic that will always be good reading for men of all ages. I cannot recommend this book more highly. I am reading it on kindle but will make sure I start my hard copy collection very soon
Wholesome reading. Back to the classics where woke culture didn’t ruin the industry. Boggle is a timeless classic that will always be good reading for men of all ages. I cannot recommend this book more highly. I am reading it on kindle but will make sure I start my hard copy collection very soon
January 21, 2015
I read this book a fair while ago, but it was great.
I have never been that interested in WW1 before this book, but now I am getting into World War One books more often.
I have never been that interested in WW1 before this book, but now I am getting into World War One books more often.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews