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Biggles Of The Camel Squadron (1934)

by W.E. Johns(Favorite Author)

4.02 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

Middle Grade & Children's

publisher

Dean & Son

series

Biggles

review 1: I read a lot of Biggles when I was young, and then one day I finished one and thought 'I've had enough of that'. I'd have spotted the formulaic gung-ho plotlines, I guess. However, I recently read a review of a biography of W E Johns which suggested he was not quite the simple soul the Biggles books might have suggested to me all those years ago. So I got hold of an early collection of Biggles stories which has an introduction by Johns which makes it clear that the stories are all based on actual incidents from the First World War. He says: 'I mention these facts to demonstrate to those unfamiliar with war flying history what amazing things could, and did, happen, things far more strange than those recorded in this book, which - and I say this in order that there shou... moreld be no misunderstanding - has been written more for the entertainment of the younger generation than the hard-baked warrior.'That combination of the story that is exciting for the child (and I am still happy to enjoy children's fiction), but which, based on truth, allows the adult reader to see the darker side of combat as well, impressed me as a considerable achievement. Some of the writing struck me as very violent (excitingly unreal for the child, unsettlingly real for the adult), and Biggles, although he often keeps his cool and expresses the manly sentiments characteristic of his literary type, is nevertheless painted as a man capable of anger, revenge, and ruthlessness. The story I found most memorable was the one in which the German ace pulls out of a fight to the death with Biggles because Biggles' gun has jammed, an example of old-fashioned fairness that Biggles is able to return later when he indicates to said ace that he and his circus are about to be set on my a squadron of Camels. The story seems to illustrate the most bizarre aspect of war: humanity has a moral code of fairness, and yet considers killing acceptable. Hi-ho - back to the ethics books....Would like to try that biography of Johns one day.(My father's cousin, Peter Alston, was a test pilot during the Second World War. He was killed when a plane he was testing did not come out of the spin he had to put it into. His widow retired to somewhere near Biggleswade where there is an air museum. I wonder if Bigglesworth is a name derived from Biggleswade.)
review 2: Thanks to Capt. W.E. John's first-hand knowlege, his text is highly evocative, both in the detail of strategy, machinery, logistics, and above all in the language he uses. Though he portrays war in the air as an adventure (remember: this is a childrens book), he does describe moments of sickening uncertainty; he does not trivialise war. His young reader is left older and wiser. By comparison, many childrens books published today seem thoroughly childish and lifeless. less

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