BIGGLES GOES TO SCHOOL
Book First Published on 7th June 1951* - 193 pages
* This information is taken from a letter
from A. P. Watt & Son to W. E. Johns in my collection
This story was first published, in six monthly parts, as BIGGLES
AT SCHOOL in the Boys Own Paper Volume 73, issues 1 to 6, dated October 1950
to March 1951
The first edition dust jacket showing
the original price of 6 shillings
CHAPTERS
Click on any chapter for a summary of the events in that chapter or
see the general story summary below
This book chronicles Biggles as a
schoolboy (dust cover) at Malton Hall School near the town of Hertbury. The headmaster is Colonel Horace Chase and he
remembers Biggles' brother, Charles, who previously attended the same school.
(A footnote tells us that Major Charles Bigglesworth, D.S.O., M.C., was later
killed in action in September 1918). Biggles immediately falls foul of the
school bully, called Hervey and his sidekick Brickwell.
He has various adventures, he recaptures an escaped dancing bear and on a mock
army exercise, he captures the enemy's flag. After exposing a crook at the
local fair and recovering a "stolen" diamond ring from a jackdaw's
nest, Biggles and his best friend Smith (tertius) cause a local rumpus
by making a fake treasure map for their own amusement. This sets all the locals
off on what became known as the Hertbury Treasure
Hunt. Biggles' most dangerous adventure is sparked off when he goes trespassing
in Foxley Wood to gather conkers and he sees Hervey
and Brickwell poaching and selling the stolen game to
a local butcher. When the whole school is confronted with the incident, Biggles
is the only one to own up to being present in the Wood but he refuses to name
the two guilty boys. Things start to get out of hand when a ruthless poacher
named Michael Dunnage kills the gamekeeper. Biggles is a witness having been
given permission to help the gamekeeper in Foxley
Wood. The police don't believe Biggles and he has to use his wits and cunning
to find the evidence to bring Dunnage to justice. However, Dunnage avoids
capture and Biggles is then in fear for his life because of what he knows. Eventually,
Dunnage is captured by the police and hanged.
Click here to see the story illustrations from this book
Biggles Goes to School
Subtitle - The Story of Biggles' early life and school days
Publication Details - published by Hodder & Stoughton
Frontispiece
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