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Biggles #56
Biggles of 266
These brilliant short stories of air combat in the pioneer days of the Royal Flying Corps present Biggles in some of his most exciting adventures.
THey are all set against the authentic background of war-torn France, over which the author himself flew and fought as a pilot.
The humour, daring, and curious quirks of character of the protagonists give to the stories a fascinating realism.
Biggles' admirers of all ages will treasure this book as a 'find'.
THey are all set against the authentic background of war-torn France, over which the author himself flew and fought as a pilot.
The humour, daring, and curious quirks of character of the protagonists give to the stories a fascinating realism.
Biggles' admirers of all ages will treasure this book as a 'find'.
184 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1955
6 people are currently reading
161 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 - 24 of 24 reviews
August 30, 2016
This is a terrific collection of Biggles World War One stories.
In the first tale, Biggles takes his newly repaired aircraft for a test flight and decides to keep going, over the lines, where he’s just too late to save his colleague, but puts paid to the German pilot responsible, gets an unlucky hit to his propeller, crashes, sees some unusually large concrete structures, finds an observation balloon about to be tethered, grabs hold of the basket and drifts back over to the British side of the lines, just before the balloon gets shot up (by the British). He jumps out, luckily with a parachute. He makes it back to his home aerodrome and reports that he has stumbled upon secret German gun emplacements (the concrete).
This is typical: full of action, innovation, surprise and perilous undertakings. On another occasion, Biggles laments the lack of a turkey for Christmas, lands in occupied territory, flings money at a startled Belgian farmer, grabs a turkey, then has to wrestle it home, sitting on it, trying to avoid the attentions of an enemy aircraft. There’s a story about friendly rivalry with neighbouring squadrons, and another about an epic dogfight with hundreds of planes including ‘The Circus’ led by the great Baron von Richthofen himself.
My favourite is The Pilot Who Lost His Way and for this one Biggles is in a two-seater, rather than his usual single-seater Camel. This point is essential for the plot as it unfolds, as Biggles suspects a French pilot may not be what he seems. There is a magic moment when Biggles discerns a small gesture, which gives him pause. It is a nice touch.
Originally appearing in a magazine called The Modern Boy around 1932, these are among the earliest Biggles tales. In one sense they are quite basic, simple, mainly one-off stories, but they have all the qualities, which would make Biggles a beloved character and the books popular for such a long time.
The main setting is a British aerodrome at Maranique, France in World War One, featuring the officers and men of the 266 Squadron, flying Sopwith Camels, single-seater fighter planes. We get a pretty good idea of what it was like to be a war flier in World War One. Maranique is some distance behind the lines. The pilots undertake dawn patrols alongside the disputed territory and occasional missions, but their modus operandi is often just taking off singly or with colleagues and engaging the enemy fliers where they can. It’s not terribly organised. This of course offers opportunities for individual daring-do, initiative and jousting.
World War One was pretty static with little movement- except in the air. Ground troops were entrenched, literally, with only the aircraft able to move relatively long distances. The warring forces each had their bases, their aerodromes, with their squadrons of aircraft, and they would fly over each other’s territory and engage in combat.
I was delighted to meet the regulars, who appear right from the beginning: Biggles fellow pilot Algy Lacey; Colonel Raymond, from Wing, who never changed rank over the next five decades; Smyth the loyal sergeant who is always available to join Biggles on his adventures, at the drop of hat.
Biggles character is established: determined, impetuous, perceptive, hot-headed at times, coldly determined at others. Biggles is resourceful, loyal and sometimes grumpy. He is quite a fully rounded character. The book is a good companion to Biggles of the Camel Squadron, which it closely resembles.
From a story-telling point of view, World War One flying offers a great deal. These pilots are like knights of old on their chargers. They are almost crusaders. This is not warfare in muddy bloody trenches with universal anonymous carnage. This is aerial knighthood, complete with the knights (the pilots), their steads (aircraft) prepared by loyal retainers (batmen and mechanics), working all night to get the crates in order so the gallant officers can fly out to battle, to join the lists, acknowledge the enemy with age old chivalry and shoot ‘em down if they can.
Great stuff!
In the first tale, Biggles takes his newly repaired aircraft for a test flight and decides to keep going, over the lines, where he’s just too late to save his colleague, but puts paid to the German pilot responsible, gets an unlucky hit to his propeller, crashes, sees some unusually large concrete structures, finds an observation balloon about to be tethered, grabs hold of the basket and drifts back over to the British side of the lines, just before the balloon gets shot up (by the British). He jumps out, luckily with a parachute. He makes it back to his home aerodrome and reports that he has stumbled upon secret German gun emplacements (the concrete).
This is typical: full of action, innovation, surprise and perilous undertakings. On another occasion, Biggles laments the lack of a turkey for Christmas, lands in occupied territory, flings money at a startled Belgian farmer, grabs a turkey, then has to wrestle it home, sitting on it, trying to avoid the attentions of an enemy aircraft. There’s a story about friendly rivalry with neighbouring squadrons, and another about an epic dogfight with hundreds of planes including ‘The Circus’ led by the great Baron von Richthofen himself.
My favourite is The Pilot Who Lost His Way and for this one Biggles is in a two-seater, rather than his usual single-seater Camel. This point is essential for the plot as it unfolds, as Biggles suspects a French pilot may not be what he seems. There is a magic moment when Biggles discerns a small gesture, which gives him pause. It is a nice touch.
Originally appearing in a magazine called The Modern Boy around 1932, these are among the earliest Biggles tales. In one sense they are quite basic, simple, mainly one-off stories, but they have all the qualities, which would make Biggles a beloved character and the books popular for such a long time.
The main setting is a British aerodrome at Maranique, France in World War One, featuring the officers and men of the 266 Squadron, flying Sopwith Camels, single-seater fighter planes. We get a pretty good idea of what it was like to be a war flier in World War One. Maranique is some distance behind the lines. The pilots undertake dawn patrols alongside the disputed territory and occasional missions, but their modus operandi is often just taking off singly or with colleagues and engaging the enemy fliers where they can. It’s not terribly organised. This of course offers opportunities for individual daring-do, initiative and jousting.
World War One was pretty static with little movement- except in the air. Ground troops were entrenched, literally, with only the aircraft able to move relatively long distances. The warring forces each had their bases, their aerodromes, with their squadrons of aircraft, and they would fly over each other’s territory and engage in combat.
I was delighted to meet the regulars, who appear right from the beginning: Biggles fellow pilot Algy Lacey; Colonel Raymond, from Wing, who never changed rank over the next five decades; Smyth the loyal sergeant who is always available to join Biggles on his adventures, at the drop of hat.
Biggles character is established: determined, impetuous, perceptive, hot-headed at times, coldly determined at others. Biggles is resourceful, loyal and sometimes grumpy. He is quite a fully rounded character. The book is a good companion to Biggles of the Camel Squadron, which it closely resembles.
From a story-telling point of view, World War One flying offers a great deal. These pilots are like knights of old on their chargers. They are almost crusaders. This is not warfare in muddy bloody trenches with universal anonymous carnage. This is aerial knighthood, complete with the knights (the pilots), their steads (aircraft) prepared by loyal retainers (batmen and mechanics), working all night to get the crates in order so the gallant officers can fly out to battle, to join the lists, acknowledge the enemy with age old chivalry and shoot ‘em down if they can.
Great stuff!
November 9, 2020
A great collection of adventures, but be aware they are a reprint of many that are in Biggles in France
June 11, 2021
Rating: 4.5 stars
WARNING: Almost all the stories in this collection are also in Biggles in France, with only one or two added in or left out. This is not made clear in any blurb or anything that I can see, and the titles of the stories are all different, and so beware of purchasing practically the same book twice like I did!
On the other hand, the story that WAS new to me, the last one, was one of the best! :)
WARNING: Almost all the stories in this collection are also in Biggles in France, with only one or two added in or left out. This is not made clear in any blurb or anything that I can see, and the titles of the stories are all different, and so beware of purchasing practically the same book twice like I did!
On the other hand, the story that WAS new to me, the last one, was one of the best! :)
April 5, 2018
A rather amusing collection of Biggles short stories
28 July 2012
I want to begin by saying that I never realised how funny Biggles was until I read this collection of short stories. Don't get me wrong, not all of the Biggle's stories (and there are an awful lot of them) are comical, many of them are adventure stories, but from John's introduction to this book, and the nature of air combat in World War I, the stories can be quite amusing, especially since he indicates that when it came to air combat truth is stranger than fiction (at which point he tells a story of a pilot who flipped the plane, fell out of the cockpit, grabbed hold of the machinegun, and then managed to flip the plane back over).
Captain W.E. Johns was a war veteran so the two things he knew really well was fighting in World War I (he fought in Gallipoli, the Middle East, and on the Western Front) and air combat. The reason I say air combat is because halfway through the war he returned to England, learned how to fly (planes were only beginning to appear in the second half of the war, and were used as scouts, as well as to drop bricks on enemy positions) and then began teaching others to fly. Remember that at this time flight was still a very new invention and there was a high chance that when you went up you would not be coming back. This actually happened to Johns in that he only flew combat missions for six weeks before being shot down by a German and ended up spending the rest of the war in a POW camp (and being in September 1918 he wasn't there for very long).
Johns remained in the Royal Flying Corps until 1927 when he retired and began writing books, his most popular being the Biggles books. This is not surprising since by the 1930s pilots were looked on a heroes, and as such Biggles was created as being the pinnacle of this new hero. In World War I the pilots were on the cutting edge of technology and acted more like special forces operatives than the airforce pilots that are around today. Consider this, you could probably name more World War I pilots than you could name pilots from any other era, even if the only pilot that you can name is The Red Baron (and you can add Captain Johns to that list to make two).
As I said, these World War I stories are much more comical than adventurous. The later Biggles stories have him as a spy and as an air policeman, however it is these World War I stories that everybody remembers. Seriously, Biggles is forever crashing planes (he crashes three of them in this book) as well as shooting down at least 15 German planes (which makes him an Ace, even if the British did not measure success based on how many planes you shot down. Personally I would measure success based upon the number of missions that you come back from, and from what I understand, even surviving one mission is a effort in itself).
As for the stories, the first one has him take the plane up into the air to test it out and while up there he decides to go for a fly over enemy territory. Biggles then proceeds to crash the plane and escapes back to friendly territory by stealing a balloon (and almost get shot down by friendly fire in the process). Another has him flying over enemy lines on Christmas purely to steal a turkey, and another one is a competition as to who can fly the furthest over enemies lines to dump propaganda leaflets on the enemy. Oh, and there is the one with the camera which, surprise surprise, results in Biggles crashing the plane.
28 July 2012
I want to begin by saying that I never realised how funny Biggles was until I read this collection of short stories. Don't get me wrong, not all of the Biggle's stories (and there are an awful lot of them) are comical, many of them are adventure stories, but from John's introduction to this book, and the nature of air combat in World War I, the stories can be quite amusing, especially since he indicates that when it came to air combat truth is stranger than fiction (at which point he tells a story of a pilot who flipped the plane, fell out of the cockpit, grabbed hold of the machinegun, and then managed to flip the plane back over).
Captain W.E. Johns was a war veteran so the two things he knew really well was fighting in World War I (he fought in Gallipoli, the Middle East, and on the Western Front) and air combat. The reason I say air combat is because halfway through the war he returned to England, learned how to fly (planes were only beginning to appear in the second half of the war, and were used as scouts, as well as to drop bricks on enemy positions) and then began teaching others to fly. Remember that at this time flight was still a very new invention and there was a high chance that when you went up you would not be coming back. This actually happened to Johns in that he only flew combat missions for six weeks before being shot down by a German and ended up spending the rest of the war in a POW camp (and being in September 1918 he wasn't there for very long).
Johns remained in the Royal Flying Corps until 1927 when he retired and began writing books, his most popular being the Biggles books. This is not surprising since by the 1930s pilots were looked on a heroes, and as such Biggles was created as being the pinnacle of this new hero. In World War I the pilots were on the cutting edge of technology and acted more like special forces operatives than the airforce pilots that are around today. Consider this, you could probably name more World War I pilots than you could name pilots from any other era, even if the only pilot that you can name is The Red Baron (and you can add Captain Johns to that list to make two).
As I said, these World War I stories are much more comical than adventurous. The later Biggles stories have him as a spy and as an air policeman, however it is these World War I stories that everybody remembers. Seriously, Biggles is forever crashing planes (he crashes three of them in this book) as well as shooting down at least 15 German planes (which makes him an Ace, even if the British did not measure success based on how many planes you shot down. Personally I would measure success based upon the number of missions that you come back from, and from what I understand, even surviving one mission is a effort in itself).
As for the stories, the first one has him take the plane up into the air to test it out and while up there he decides to go for a fly over enemy territory. Biggles then proceeds to crash the plane and escapes back to friendly territory by stealing a balloon (and almost get shot down by friendly fire in the process). Another has him flying over enemy lines on Christmas purely to steal a turkey, and another one is a competition as to who can fly the furthest over enemies lines to dump propaganda leaflets on the enemy. Oh, and there is the one with the camera which, surprise surprise, results in Biggles crashing the plane.
February 28, 2015
I was given this book at a school prize giving in 1971, when I was 9 years old. The prize was for "academic achievement", and I still have the book. Times have changed though. Primary schools in Scotland no longer give out prizes for academic achievement, and even if they did they would be as likely to hand out bags of cocaine as send children home with this book. The "Boys Own" version of WWI, Biggles and his fellow fliers of 266 squadron have an absolutely spiffing time fighting the Germans and playing pranks on neighbouring British squadrons. I have given this book 4 stars for two reasons. Firstly, the author was actually a WWI pilot, so presumably knew what he was talking about. Secondly, I recall distinctly that when I read this book as a 9 year-old, I absolutely loved it.
February 9, 2017
Like most of the Biggles books set in World War I, this is a collection of short stories, some of which has previously appeared in other volumes.
Like most of the Biggles stories from this era, this is pretty much boys-own fare. Johns isn't the best writer in the world but, having been a pilot in the Great War, he does know his stuff. The stories are easy to read and although the situations that Biggles gets himself into seem a little unlikely at times, it doesn't detract from the enjoyment.
Like most of the Biggles stories from this era, this is pretty much boys-own fare. Johns isn't the best writer in the world but, having been a pilot in the Great War, he does know his stuff. The stories are easy to read and although the situations that Biggles gets himself into seem a little unlikely at times, it doesn't detract from the enjoyment.
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November 20, 2014good Biggles Book!
June 12, 2023
I was brought up on W.E.Johns Biggles stories alongside Enid Blyton's adventure books. Any story that makes children excited to read has merit and - seeing this dusty hardback on the shelves of a Bushmills second hand book shop - I thought I'd revisit the reading of my youth.
Johns - as a former RFC and RAF officer writes a convincing account of the first generation of aerial warfare. The chapters each form a complete short story of air combat with a variety of foci, be it revenge for a heinous offence against the rules of war, or a competition for a gramophone, or a search for a Christmas turkey. In his interwar stories Johns turned Biggles into a detective and each of these short stories has that ludic puzzle element of a problem and Biggles through ingenuity and insight finding a solution to it.
The verisimilitude and the prose are both stronger than I recall seeing in Blyton's work and - as Johns himself says in his own introduction, the reality of war was filled with stranger stories than any work of fiction could imagine. Within the pages there is one brief moment of casual racism that would probably not have a raised an eyebrow even by the time of Johns' death in 1968, but which jars to a modern ear. I note it, not so much as a criticism, but as an indication of how social attitudes are eternally changing and maturing with time.
Johns - as a former RFC and RAF officer writes a convincing account of the first generation of aerial warfare. The chapters each form a complete short story of air combat with a variety of foci, be it revenge for a heinous offence against the rules of war, or a competition for a gramophone, or a search for a Christmas turkey. In his interwar stories Johns turned Biggles into a detective and each of these short stories has that ludic puzzle element of a problem and Biggles through ingenuity and insight finding a solution to it.
The verisimilitude and the prose are both stronger than I recall seeing in Blyton's work and - as Johns himself says in his own introduction, the reality of war was filled with stranger stories than any work of fiction could imagine. Within the pages there is one brief moment of casual racism that would probably not have a raised an eyebrow even by the time of Johns' death in 1968, but which jars to a modern ear. I note it, not so much as a criticism, but as an indication of how social attitudes are eternally changing and maturing with time.
July 16, 2021
First published in 1955, 'Biggles of 266' is a collection of 9 short stories mainly recounting Biggles experiences with 266 Squadron in France during the latter stages of WW1, the exception being the final story in which he is with 169 Squadron. All were originally published in magazines in around 1932 and, like all of his others from this time are some of his best stories. However, you do need to be aware that most have appeared in other collections previously. Enjoyable boys own stuff, right down to the crazy lurid and rather inaccurate artwork in my edition.
April 9, 2020
I love this book, grew up with it and it's comforting in these times. Fuelled my fascination with WWI and the RFC in particular. This and Biggles, Pioneer Air Pilot were two of my all time favourites as a boy. I could recite them pretty much word for word.
July 24, 2018
Loved these stories when I was young, although I'm pretty sure I read it the first time before 1977.
Follows the story of a World War I fighter pilot!
Follows the story of a World War I fighter pilot!
February 8, 2019
great book, full of action
September 25, 2021
Ahhh, I had forgotten how much I liked the classic WW1 stories. They make me chortle every time!
December 31, 2021
It's Biggles: if you like him you will thoroughly enjoy this set of early short stories, just don't count on historical accuracy. Or maybe, it really was like that, unlikely as it seems.
October 21, 2022
Nostalgic re-read of my old copy while visiting my parents. Rather less well written than I remember but topping stuff all the same. Would recommend.
March 3, 2023
Biggles is a great World War One pilot and this is a great collection of short stories with his usual bravado and daring do.
July 29, 2024
Glorious stories! W.E. Johns was absolutely a great writer for boys - there is a carefree humour, raw adventure and of course for the age group he writes with great expression and use of language. Only leftist haters could reject Biggles.
November 25, 2025
great, a collection of short stories that you read and re-read
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.”
March 13, 2017
I have to admit I have a soft spot for this series. Before the war movies, before the Commando Comics, before Blue Max, before even the history books, there were the summer afternoons with words on a page that would take me across the planet, seventy years in the past, and fifteen thousand feet up. I'd feel the cold, the wind, the vibration, be deafened by the roaring engines, squint into the blue for telltale twinkles of color, smell the oil and the cordite, sway with the gforces... it started a lifelong interest, and opened up a whole new way of looking at history as something so much more alive than dates and things that happened. It was a world now.
It was all words, and the only images I'd ever seen to show what it looked like was on faded, tattered covers - but the world behind the words was crystalline, gloriously detailed, and fun.
Could any ten-year-old ask for more in a story?
It was all words, and the only images I'd ever seen to show what it looked like was on faded, tattered covers - but the world behind the words was crystalline, gloriously detailed, and fun.
Could any ten-year-old ask for more in a story?
August 9, 2016
A collection of short stories from WWI, including one that was already in one of the first Biggles books (the one where Algy gets yelled at for doing circus flying above another squadron).
The author seems to be reusing old material and ideas quite a lot here. Not really much new information or base stories if you have read the earlier books, except for one Biggles flew an FE2 for an earlier squadron (not 266).
The author seems to be reusing old material and ideas quite a lot here. Not really much new information or base stories if you have read the earlier books, except for one Biggles flew an FE2 for an earlier squadron (not 266).
June 20, 2011
Reread. This is pretty much the Boy Scout version of warfare, with almost no emotional depth, but it does reflect its author's experience flying on the Western Front in WWI. Some of the stories are pretty funny.
March 20, 2020
Easy to read adventures of the famous pilot.
July 22, 2016
One of the classics!
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews