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Biggles #70
Biggles and the Missing Millionaire
Biggles and his friends are given a seemingly impossible task when they are asked to locate the luxury yacht, Cordelia, and its master. The five-hundred-ton vessel - owned by troubled international financier Otto Brandt - simply slipped her mooring one night and sailed off into obscurity on the high seas. The team's mission is further complicated by a young Italian who is bent on revenge.
166 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
About the author
W.E. Johns
613 books117 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 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 24, 2014
Another adventure in the life of Biggles and his chums; Algie, Bertie and Ginger. In this one the Air Commodore has sent them find a missing millionaire and they wind up foiling a revolution. Great fun!
One must consider the times and societal norms when reading these books as some terms and descriptions are no longer acceptable. I still read them to my children, but we discuss how terms that were considered "polite" are no longer acceptable.
One must consider the times and societal norms when reading these books as some terms and descriptions are no longer acceptable. I still read them to my children, but we discuss how terms that were considered "polite" are no longer acceptable.
February 16, 2018
Een verhaal dat erg spannend start en de indruk geeft van een lange, moeilijke speurtocht. Maar al onmiddellijk is er van speurtocht weinig sprake, vallen de hoofdrolspelers uit hun rol en vinden er een aantal dramatische, onafwendbare gebeurtenissen plaats. Biggles en zijn vrienden zijn (haast letterlijk) grotendeels slechts getuigen. Al lopen ze wel levensgevaar. Het verhaal zelf overtuigt niet en het einde is nogal onbevredigend. Dat er Belgische wapens in voorkomen is interessant maar eigenlijk niet meer dan een realistisch teken van zijn tijd. Geen afrader, en toch een must voor de Biggles-liefhebber, maar toch snel door naar het volgende avontuur.
July 18, 2026
Decades of experience notwithstanding, Biggles is never properly equipped. I dare say I have more food, water, and other useful items with me when I go out than Biggles ever has. Even worse, he runs out of cigarettes.
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.”
July 25, 2011
I loved Biggles books when I was a boy! This is one of the more obscure books in the set, which explains why I had never read it growing up...
August 31, 2015
I first read this as a child when my father enrolled me into the Children's Book Club. This Biggles book is fun. I enjoyed it.
June 28, 2016
Biggles krijgt de opdracht om een vermiste miljonair op te sporen en indien mogelijk thuis te brengen. En het eindigt er mee dat hij een revolutie voorkomt.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews