THE CAMELS ARE COMING
First Published in August 1932 - 259 pages
The first edition of this book can be hard to identify because it
is undated. It is bound in black and has a crest about one third of the way up
the spine (rather than at the base). There is no catalogue at the rear and no
other titles by W.E. Johns are mentioned in the preliminary pages. The early
editions contain no colour frontispiece but have 17 black and white
illustrations by Johns. Later John Hamilton editions of the book (4th onwards,
I believe) only have 220 pages and contain a colour frontispiece (as pictured
at the bottom of the page). There is also a distinctive error in the text which
occurs in the first three editions, on Page 224 of the story "THE
FOG!". The code number of the spy is given incorrectly as "2792"
when it should be "2742"
(YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THIS ERROR BY CLICKING HERE)
This contains seventeen short stories and before each there is an
illustration drawn by W.E. Johns. As this is such a rare book I will give a
fairly full summary. The stories are:-
FORWARD (pages 7 to 15) (a short essay by W. E. Johns)
THE WHITE FOKKER (pages 17 to 31)
Click here to see story illustration
The first ever Biggles story
introduces Biggles in the following way, "a slight, fair haired, good
looking lad still in his 'teens, but an acting Flight-Commander". He has
"deep-set hazel eyes" which hold a "glint of yellow fire".
His hands are "small and delicate as a girl's". The story also
introduces us to Major Mullen, the C.O. of Biggles' Squadron and to MacLaren
and Mahoney, two other Flight-Commanders. The Fokker D.VII of the title shoots
down Norman when he is about to land. Various traps are set to get the Fokker
and eventually Biggles shoots it down. This is the first "kill" we
read about for Biggles although we are told in the story earlier that he has
killed "six men during the past month - or was it a year? - he had
forgotten".
(This story was originally first published in the April 1932
edition of Popular Flying Magazine – click here for more details)
THE PACKET (pages 33 to 47)
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In the second ever story,
Biggles, now promoted to Captain, meets Colonel (later to be Air Commodore)
Raymond for the first time. Raymond asks Biggles to recover a secret packet of
plans hidden by a spy in a rabbit hole in a field inside enemy territory. Only
a pilot of Biggles' skill would be able to land in and take off from the small
field. Two pilots have already died trying. Needless to say, Biggles recovers
the plans, with a little bit of help from MacLaren and Mahoney.
(This story was originally first published in the May 1932 edition
of Popular Flying Magazine – click
here for more details)
J-9982 (pages 49 to 61)
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A German pilot is using a
captured Sopworth Camel to kill unsuspecting British pilots. The story title
refers to the number of the plane. Biggles, MacLaren and Mahoney hunt for the
devious plane and eventually Biggles finds it and shoots it down. Biggles also
shoots down a Hanoverana earlier on in this story and a Fokker just after he
has got the rogue Camel.
(This story was originally first published in the June 1932
edition of Popular Flying Magazine – click here for more details)
THE BALLOONATICS (pages 63 to 79)
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Air Commodore Raymond is the
first to get 12 bottles of pre-war whisky. However he offers it to both Biggles
and Captain Wilkinson of 287 squadron depending on the success of their attacks
on an observation balloon at Duneville. This is the first story to feature
'Wilks' of 287 squadron. This is also the first story to name Biggles' squadron
as 266. Biggles wins all 12 bottles of whisky by actually capturing the German
balloon. During the attempts he also shoots down a Fokker Triplane. In later,
1950's reprints such as
Biggles of the Special Air Police, this story has the men risking their lives for bottles of
lemonade (!) as the stories were changed for a younger audience, rather than
the adult audience for which they were originally written. All references to
swearing were removed or changed, as were references to drinking, from all of
the stories that were republished. The changes to this particular story were
the most extreme.
(This story was originally first published in the July 1932
edition of Popular Flying Magazine – click here for more details)
THE BLUE DEVIL (pages 81 to 89)
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An all blue German Albatross has
built up a deadly reputation with a clever manoeuvre. The blue Albatross can
turn in an instant, almost pivoting on its wing tip and shoot the plane that is
on its tail. Biggles eventually fights the deadly German and foils the
manoeuvre by doing the unexpected. When the plane turns on him, he tries to ram
it rather than get out of the way and by taking the German by surprise, he is
able to shoot him down.
(This story was originally first published in the August 1932
edition of Popular Flying Magazine – click here for more details)
CAMOUFLAGE (pages 91 to 97)
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The Germans have a cleverly
disguised gun. It is disguised as a church, including a graveyard and ivy on
the walls. Biggles' suspicions are first raised when he sees the church in a
location it has never been in. Everybody denies there is a church there and
when he goes back to check, it has gone. Biggles then hunts relentlessly for
the church and gives the new co-ordinates to the artillery who pound it out of
existence.
THE CARRIER (pages 99 to 109)
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Biggles' propeller kills a
carrier pigeon but Biggles finds a message on the pigeon's leg. Passing the
message straight to Raymond at Intelligence, Biggles is informed that his M.C.
(Military Cross) has come through. Of more concern to Biggles though, is the
fact that the message, when decoded, turns out to be from a British spy. The spy
is trapped in a German field and is being hunted down by dogs. Intelligence
decide he will have to be left to his fate. Biggles is having none of that and
sets off to rescue him, only to be brought down by 'archie' and crash in the
German trenches! Luckily they have just been taken by the Royal Scots.
SPADS AND SPANDAUS (pages 111 to 122)
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After Biggles meets some
over-confident American pilots, he suggests that 266 and 287 Squadron join
together to offer some protection for the Americans when they fly over the
lines the following day. This is organised and results in a major air battle
with the Germans. Biggles shoots down an Albatross before his guns jam. It is
interesting to note that at the beginning of the story Wilkinson tells the
Americans "his name's Bigglesworth, officially, he's shot down twelve Huns
and five balloons, but to my certain knowledge he's got several more".
THE ZONE CALL (pages 125 to 138)
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Biggles forces an unarmed Pfalz
pilot to land and captures him. The man later gives information whilst drunk to
Air Intelligence, that leads them to organise a raid on a new German Airfield.
Biggles isn't so easily fooled and finds a torn part of a secret order in the
German's plane. Biggles then searches in the opposite direction to the
information given and finds the German Army massing soldiers in a wood. He uses
a helpful R.E. 8 pilot and observer to send out a "zone call". This
is a concentrated fire by all British artillery in the area on one spot (and
costs in the region of £10,000 a minute in shells!). The wood is pounded and the
German troops are forced to withdraw so this foils the potential German attack.
THE DECOY (pages 141 to 153)
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Batson, from Biggles' flight, is killed
in a trap when he goes down to attack a lone German Rumpler. The trap is that a
number of German Albatross aircraft are waiting high above and fall on the
victim as he approaches the Rumpler. Biggles takes over Batson's plane and goes
all out to get the plane responsible. It takes a while for him to find it. In
the meantime, we are told "he fought many battles and, although he hardly
bothered to confirm his victories, his score mounted rapidly". One
morning, another pilot tips off Biggles as to where the Rumpler is. Biggles
flies higher than the waiting German Albatrosses and dives straight through
them, getting the Rumpler in one burst at the end of the dive. Two Albatrosses
collide and are also destroyed. The smashed aeroplane propeller of the Rumpler
is placed on "Batty's" grave.
THE BOOB (pages 155 to 167)
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Biggles receives a letter from
"an elderly female relative" to say that she has pulled strings to
get his cousin, whose Christian names are Algernon Montgomery, into 266
Squadron. This is of course, the first appearance of Algy, Biggles' long time
friend who was to appear in many stories over the years. Interestingly his
surname is not given in the story. Algy is described as having a face
"which wore a permanent expression of surprise" and "was a mass
of freckles". Biggles initially gives Algy the cold shoulder and insists
on being called Captain Bigglesworth. Biggles tells Algy all the important
things he needs to know about flying over the Western Front and takes him for
his first ever trip over the lines. Algy chases after some German planes
against orders and soon Biggles loses him. Biggles returns to base believing
Algy must have been killed but Algy returns and claims to have got lucky and
shot down a German! Checking, Biggles finds a charred wreck at the corner of
Mossyface Wood (an interesting choice of name there by the author, as 'Mossyface' was his first ever book). On their next trip over the
lines, Biggles and Algy have an encounter with some Fokkers and Algy flies at
the Germans like a mad dog, without firing any bullets. Biggles later finds out
that Algy's gun had jammed, yet he stuck it out and didn't flee. "You'll
do, kid" says Biggles, "and you can call me Biggles".
(This story was originally first published in the September 1932
edition of Popular Flying Magazine – click here for more details)
THE BATTLE OF FLOWERS (pages 169 to 177)
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266 Squadron are attacked and
bombed at their own aerodrome, by a German Hannoverana bomber, and Algy's
carefully prepared garden, containing Sunflowers, is destroyed. At 3.30 am the
following morning, Algy sets off alone to take revenge by bombing Aerodrome 29
where, it is believed, the German plane came from. Biggles immediately takes
two pilots with him and flies over to save Algy. Biggles shoots up a German
aeroplane trying to take off and causes it to crash and they manage to extract
Algy from the scene. It turns out that Algy wasn't bombing the German hangers,
but just their flower beds!
(This story was originally first published in the October 1932
edition of Popular Flying Magazine – click here for more details)
THE BOMBER (pages 179 to 190)
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Biggles attacks a heavily
defended new German bomber and finds that it has no blind spots. He is shot at
from every approach angle and one bullet cuts his ignition lead, causing his
Bentley Rotary engine to cut out. Biggles is able to glide down and make a
landing at 287 Squadron's aerodrome. Wilks tells Biggles the plane is a
Friedrichshafen and two pilots have been killed already, trying to attack it.
Biggles decides to attack the German plane under the nacelle using a Lewis gun,
which fires directly upwards, through his centre section. After an initial
failed attempt, Biggles shoots the German pilot and the German observer has to
try to land the bomber but the plane crashes during the forced landing.
ON LEAVE (pages 193 to 208)
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Biggles is astonished to see that
he is to be posted to "Home Establishment". In order to have the
order withdrawn he agrees to take leave and in fact, the posting was a trick to
force Biggles to take leave. Flying back to the UK in a Camel, we are told that
Biggles arrives home only to discover the house closed and a friend of the
family tells him that his father and brother, his only living relations, were
in the Army and "somewhere in France". After meeting with Dick
Harboard, his father's greatest friend and associate, Biggles is invited to
Dick's house in the country. Attending the house in "mufti" (civilian
clothes), Biggles is treated disrespectfully by other guests. When Biggles
hears of two German Seaplanes bombing Ramsgate, Biggles immediately goes to
Lympne to get his Camel and shoots them both down. He is able to return to the
house before the other guests return from a shooting trip. When Dick Harboard
tells Biggles he shouldn't be surprised if he got the D.S.O. (Distinguished
Service Order) for his actions, the other guests realise that Biggles is not the
coward they thought he was. (Interestingly, Johns refers to Dick Harboard by
the name of Harcourt later in the story).
FOG! (pages 211 to 224)
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On his way back to 266 Squadron
in France, flying from England, Biggles gets lost in fog and has to land to
find out where he is. Biggles is shocked to discover he has landed by a secret
camouflaged German gas supply dump. Here he accidentally meets a spy who refers
to himself only by the number "2742". Biggles returns to his Camel
and flies away as the fog lifts. He then has to survive heavy 'archie' fire
before shooting down a Fokker triplane and returning to his Squadron in
Maranique. Biggles makes out a report to Headquarters to report the whereabouts
of the Gas dump and credits the find to the spy - although in an unfortunate
error in the book, he credits it to "2792"!
AFFAIRE DE COEUR (pages 227 to 243)
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This is one of the most well
known of Biggles' stories, where he meets the love of his life, Marie Janis.
When his magneto shorts out, after picking up a new Camel from the Aircraft
Park, Biggles makes a forced landing near Clarmes. At a nearby house he meets
"a vision of blonde loveliness wrapped up in blue silk, smiling at
him". "You were looking for me, perhaps?" she asks him, to which
he replies, "Mademoiselle, I've been looking for you all my life".
Over the next week, their romance blossoms and Marie explains that her father
is over the other side of the German lines and she has not been able to contact
him to tell him that his wife, her mother, is dead. Biggles offers to drop a
message and this is what he does, at a place called Chateau Boreau. Unbeknown
to Biggles however, Air Intelligence is watching his every move and they
substitute the letter for another. Biggles drops in at 287 Squadron and then
drives out to Marie Janis' house. German bombers fly over and bomb the house.
Biggles is stopped from going into the house and told that the message he was
to deliver for Marie contained a detailed map setting out how to bomb 266
Squadron aerodrome. Air Intelligence staff had swapped the map for one of the
house so that the Germans had bombed the wrong target. Marie Janis was a spy!
Biggles returns to his aerodrome, desolate, but finds a letter from Marie
inviting him to a meeting at the time that 266 was to have been bombed. Marie
had wanted to save him. Another letter arrives, explaining that she loves him,
but as he now knows she is a spy they must part. "We shall meet
again" she says ........ and they do, in the 1965 book BIGGLES LOOKS BACK
THE LAST SHOW (pages 245 to 259)
Click here to see story illustration
Following his affair with
Marie Janis, Biggles begins to drink heavily. He's drinking half a bottle of
whisky in the morning, before daylight, and flying with such disregard of the
consequences that it is clear he will soon be killed. Major Mullen, the C.O.,
decides Biggles has to be sent home and finds a reason to do so when a new
officer is required to form a new Squadron of Snipes back in England, before
bringing them over to France. The C.O. speaks to both Mahoney and McLaren, the
other flight leaders, who are more senior to Biggles, for their views and they
both agree that Biggles should have the post. The C.O. explains that he will be
going to Wing Command shortly and one of them will have to take over his job in
any event. Meanwhile, Biggles flies over Chateau Boreau, where he dropped
Marie's message and thinks he sees her in the grounds. Orders are posted.
Captain Bigglesworth M.C. is promoted to Major from 10th November 1918 and sent
to command 319 Squadron from 11th November 1918. Biggles asks to do one final
"show" with 266 Squadron. It turns out to be escorting bombers on two
raids. The morning target will be Aerodrome 27 and the afternoon target will be
Chateau Boreau! The morning raid results in a massive dogfight and an attack by
up to 30 German planes. Biggles shoots down a Fokker, his last "kill"
of the war, before he himself is shot down in a hail of lead. A wounded Biggles
crashes and escapes from his Camel before it bursts into flames. Biggles is captured
and after some initial rough treatment, a German Officer tells him an Armistice
was signed half an hour ago, the war is over. The afternoon raid will never
take place.
The dust cover of the book shows three Sopworth Camels.
The Camels are Coming
Publication Details - published by John Hamilton
Frontispiece
Click on the above to see it in more detail
(Note - this is from a later edition as there was no colour
frontispiece in the first three editions)