Aged just seventeen (and lying that he was eighteen), James Bigglesworth enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps in 1916. The Corps was a hasty mix of staff from the Navy and Army. Biplanes such as the Sopwith Pup were made of spruce wood, canvas and piano wire, with small petrol engines and one propeller, machine guns and bombs. The two-man crew had no way to talk to the ground or other planes, except basic hand signals to each other. A thin, small young man with good sight, sharp reflexes and a quick brain was exactly what was needed.

With nine hours of solo flying under his belt, Biggles is sent to the front. Within minutes of his arrival, he is bombed and his CO lands a few planes short. The new officer is pressed into service the same day. Luckily Biggles's gunner has a few months of experience and manages to keep them alive. The "countless zigzag lines of trenches in which a million men were crouching" and railway depots need to be observed for enemy troop movements while Baron von Richthofen leads a massed enemy flight.

While Biggles is the hero of many more books, there is no telling which of his comrades will be killed at any minute, as the keen excitement of the brave young men turns to black humour and nervous tension. Flying Bristols and Sopwith Camels at eight thousand feet without a parachute or fuel gauge seems immensely foolhardy, but these men did it every day. Crash-landing behind enemy lines, facing cavalry charges or falling into the Channel is part of the adventure.

As I read the series while growing up, I was hoping to get a glimpse of Biggles' home and family, but no, BIGGLES LEARNS TO FLY focuses entirely on the war recalled so vividly by Captain W. E. Johns. I was absolutely hooked by the drama and tension all over again, as young adults everywhere should be too. BIGGLES LEARNS TO FLY deserves to be read.

Book Summary