Biggles in Borneo

Biggles #28

by W.E. Johns

Biggles is asked to take 666 squadron to Borneo to fight against the Japanese from a secret airfield. Captain Rex Larrymore had discovered the airfield prior to the start of the war when he had to make a forced landing in Borneo. Larrymore has befriended the local natives, dangerous headhunters, and had set up as a prospector with a good supply of fuel and oil on this airfield, which he had named "Lucky Strike".

Genres: Adventure, Historical Fiction, Classics

185 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1943

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

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

During WW II, Japan had conquered and occupied Indonesia, the Philippines and surrounding area. Biggles and his mates, pilotes of the British RAF, operate from a secret hidden landing strip in the middle of the island Borneo in South East Asia, to damage as much as they can of the Japanese possessions. In the midst of the turmoil a lot of adventures are to be endured. Of course, the heroes-on-forehand prevail. It’s quick and good story-telling at a good pace by the author, who himself had taken his part as a pilot in WW I. It was very exiting when I read this book in my youth (1965), and very nice again when I read it just now, in 2021. JM

[Zoe and the Edge · Rating 4 out of 5]

This scene is a first. W.E Johns' always comes up with new ways to demonstrate his characters' love for their leader.

“Why does Biggles always have to do these jobs himself?” grumbled Ginger...
“...he’s got a curious sort of complex about asking anyone to undertake a mission that might cost a bloke his life. He finds it easier to do the thing himself. I think it’s time we protested,”
“Go and tell him,” grinned Algy.
“I’m serious,” asserted Ginger. “You go with me and I will.”

The world war Biggles' books are always the best because there's lots of flying and war is what Biggles does best.
Though it is a bit weird that Biggles can't act on his own and is always keeping in mind that he's an officer in the air force and has to follow instructions.
I find it amusing that Algy is always so serious and grumpy when Biggles isn't about. He and Ginger don't really get along, huh?
There's a good combination of ass-whupping and disaster. Johns' is the master of weaving the ups and downs around skill and luck.

[Tommy Verhaegen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geen avonturenverhaal met gangsters dit keer maar een echt oorlogsverhaal dat zich tijdens WO II afspeelt in het door de Japanners veroverde gebied.
Beetje vreemd in het poco tijdperk: de Japanners worden hier als brute beesten afgeshilderd wat ze destijds ook gewoon waren. Zoals gewoonlijk in de Biggles-verhalen leren we weer een paar dingen bij ivm vliegtuigen en maken we een paar spannende momenten mee.
Luchtgevechten, crash-landingen, zinkende boten, koppensnellers, bombardementen, ... Actie te over met toch een tikje humor. Spannend en meer nadruk op het avontuurlijke dan op de echte oorlogshandelingen en de Japanse concentratiekampen.
Een goeie Biggles die absoluut niet misstaat in het rijtje.

[Gareth Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my father’s copy which he received in 1944. He is still going! I read it for nostalgia and it didn’t disappoint. Peppered with epithets that would upset many, it is clearly a product of its time - a book about war written in wartime. In essence, it is propaganda but it is also a rip-roaring yarn as we expect from Captain W.E. Johns, who liked a tall tale even when listing his rank, I recently learned.
Whatever the truth of his military status, he was a prolific writer of more than 100 books which entertained generations of children.
I found the Borneo and surrounding area made for an excellent setting and, as usual, Biggles wreaked havoc on the enemy with the help of his trusty pals Ginger, Algy, Bertie and the others.

[Paul Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Filled with plenty of non-stop wartime action. The book is a far different scenario from many of the other Biggles books, with Biggles and Co. taking on the might of Imperial Japan in the jungles of South-East Asia. They even manage to bomb an enemy aircraft carrier! Well worth the five stars!

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

They're not just kids' books, a lot of the Biggles novels (especially the wartime ones) offer a brutal and realistic perspective on historical events. This book describes the Second World War as it rages across Asia, and how Australian and indigenous people fought the advance of the Japanese. Although the action is fictional, and there's some stereotypical characters, this is a great snapshot at those events. 5 stars.

[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.”

[Edwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weer volop actie in dit Biggles boek, waarin Biggles en zijn vrienden vanaf een geheime basis op Borneo opereerden, om zo de Japanse bezetter in de regio lastig te kunnen vallen.

Het verhaal deed me een beetje denken aan een ander Biggles verhaal, waarin er vanaf een eiland voor de Duitse kust aanvallen werden uitgevoerd op Duits grondgebied.

[Leaflet · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Biggles so far.