“BIGGLES” OF THE CAMEL SQUADRON

by Capt. W. E. Johns

VII. THE PROFESSOR COMES BACK (Pages 115 – 137)

Algy bursts into the officers’ mess of No. 266 Squadron. “Biggles!” he yelled. “Listen, everybody! The Professor’s O.K.!” Word has come back that Henry Watkins is a prisoner of war. Biggles is reminded of a conversation he once had with Henry: That if he was ever captured and escaped, there should be “some meeting-place fixed – some field where machines could go over and pick prisoners up”. Biggles says “in fact, he showed me the field he had fixed on, where he would make for if he was a prisoner and escaped. He said we should know if he was there because he’d try to keep a small smoke-fire going in a corner of the field”. The area Henry selected was the east side of the Langaarte Forest. Colonel Raymond arrives from Wing Headquarters and speaks to Major Mullen. Mullen then summons his three Flight Commanders, MacLaren, Mahoney and Biggles and says that the Colonel wants to know why they haven’t found the “new Boche night-bombing squadron”. “They are coming over every night and doing a terrible lot of damage in back areas!” Biggles says he has searched every inch of ground for forty miles and can’t find them. The Colonel leaves and the whole squadron decide to fly over to ‘Henry’s field’ to see if there is a fire going. “It must be six weeks since he went down”. Nine Camels fly to the Forest of Langaarte and are surprised to find no archie (anti-aircraft fire). “In the far corner of a long rectangular field which bordered the forest a tiny pillar of pale-blue smoke rose almost perpendicularly in the still evening air”. “He’s there,” Biggles told himself unbelievingly. They head back towards the Lines to decide how to rescue him. That night, the squadron hear the “deep pour-vous, pour-vous, pour-vous” of the engines of German bombers, Friedrichshafens: parachute flares are dropped and the 266 Squadron hangars are bombed. “It was useless to try to save any of the “A” Flight machines, for the canvas hangar was a roaring sea of flame that cast an orange glow over the scene of destruction. “B” Flight hangars were also well alight, and a streak of flame was already licking across the roof of the shed where the “C” Flight machines were housed”. The three machines of Biggles “C” flight are saved but the rest are lost. The next morning those three machines take off to try and rescue Henry. The plan is for Biggles to land and pick him up by way of Henry holding onto the wing, whilst Algy and Harcourt stay up in the air covering him. Biggles lands in the relevant field and discovers to his horror that there are three well camouflaged hangars there. Biggles has found the squadron of German bombers that they have been looking for! German soldiers shoot at him and he desperately tries to take off again. Suddenly “a scarecrow of a figure leapt from the hedge and flung itself across his path to intercept him”. Biggles swerves, his under-carriage buckles and his plane somersaults. Biggles has a badly cut eye but the scarecrow figure is Henry and together they run and jump into the next field, pursued by the Germans. Algy and Harcourt land in this field and pick up Biggles and Henry respectively on their wings, and take off. Biggles is on the lower port wing and, when Algy points left, he can see Henry on the other plane’s wing (so one presumes Henry must be on the starboard wing). As they make for the Lines, they are attacked by three Fokkers. As a Fokker comes in close, Biggles stands up, grabs Algy’s Very pistol and shoots at the Fokker with it, twice, driving it away. ‘The Professor’, Henry, taking his lead from Biggles, does the same with Harcourt’s Very pistol. A formation of British S.E.5s arrive and the three Fokkers dive for home. Biggles is pleased to see the blue prop-boss of his good friend Wilkinson from 287 Squadron. Arriving home, Biggles says he will ring Wing and they will have every day-bomber within fifty miles bombing the hidden German aerodrome within the hour. Biggles asks Henry how he managed to light the fire with the Germans there. Henry says he didn’t, he had only just arrived there and it was the Germans’ own fire, which they used as a wind-indicator. If the Germans hadn’t lit the fire, Henry wouldn’t be here now. (THIS STORY IDEA IS ONE THAT JOHNS MUST HAVE LIKED AS HE EFFECTIVELY EXPENDED THE IDEA TO BOOK FORM WITH HIS 1939 BIGGLES BOOK – “THE RESCUE FLIGHT”, WHICH WAS THE LAST OF THE R.F.C. STORIES)