BIGGLES FOREIGN LEGIONNAIRE

In which Air Detective-Inspector Bigglesworth takes leave from the Special Air Section Scotland Yard to join the Foreign Legion, and has an adventure involving an old friend, an even older enemy and a near fatal trip to the desolate Valley of the Tartars in Kurdistan.

by Captain W. E. Johns

First published 23rd September 1954

The “BIGGLES” Books by Captain W. E. Johns – Page 2 – featuring 20 books.

TITLE PAGE – Page 3 – This page has a small vignette of Biggles punching an Arab

CONTENTS – Page 5

ILLUSTRATIONS – Page 7 – (six illustrations by Stead, the frontispiece and illustrations facing pages 30, 65, 96, 133 and 156)

I. BIGGLES STARTLES THE CHIEF (Pages 9 – 21)

“You’ve been looking unusually preoccupied the last day or two. Something on your mind?” Air-Commodore Raymond, of the Special Air Section, Scotland Yard, put the question to his chief operational pilot casually rather than seriously. Biggles says he is contemplating putting in a request for six months leave. When Raymond asks why he wants to take a rest, Biggles says that he didn’t say anything about resting. Biggles says “I am thinking of joining the French Foreign Legion”. “Who gave you this quaint notion?” asks Raymond. Biggles says it was Marcel Brissac of the French Surete and he has already joined. Over a cigarette, Biggles explains why. “I had a long talk with Marcel the other day”. Biggles believes that Marcel has discovered “a racket compared with which all other rackets ever organised were mere kid’s stuff”. Biggles tells Raymond about it. He starts by saying that a recent bombing of Arabs working near the Israel-Transjordan frontier preventing the signing of a recently agreed treaty. Biggles asks “Have you realised that for years every time two nations at loggerheads have been brought together by the United Nations something of this sort has happened?” Raymond replies “Now you mention it, yes”. Biggles says everyone assumes it must be one side or the other responsible. “Marcel believes, and I am now convinced, that these trouble-making incidents are not accidents, nor are they designed purely for political propaganda. They’re all part of a sinister scheme to kill the efforts of the United Nations to bring about settlement by peaceful means. In other words, someone intends to keep these wars going”. Raymond is sceptical and asks “For what possible reason?”. “Money” says Biggles. “Every time peace looms up the stock markets slump. Every time a bomb goes off, they soar. One bang and up goes the price of oil, rubber, steel and the rest of the basic commodities known as war materials. Somebody is making millions out of this gamble in human lives and you can’t deny it”. Biggles says he has been doing research into Julius Rothenburg, who died a couple of years ago. He was one of the richest men in the world and one of the most powerful. He would sell arms to one country and then tip off the neighbouring countries that they were about to be attacked and they had to buy weapons as well. “His deals were put through by a staff manager named Johann Klutz, who was boss of an army of spies – in high places as well as low”. What put Marcel onto the business was an aircraft, with French military insignia, being shot down on the border of French Somaliland after it has just bombed a village on the Abyssinian side of the frontier. France were blamed, but the aircraft had been stolen months before from Escadrille 77 in North Africa. Some time after the Abyssinian incident another bombing attack was made and this time the French authorities were ready and shot down the plane. The pilot bailed out and was captured. He was a deserter from the French Foreign Legion – a German named Voss. Voss refused to talk, and later escaped whilst waiting trial, probably with the help of powerful friends. Later, Voss had to make a forced landing in Indo-China after bombing a friendly village in an American aircraft. Captured again, Voss still refused to talk, saying he would be killed but the French put him in front of firing squad and to save himself he then told the following story. He was a soldier of fortune, prepared to fight for the highest bidder. Whilst serving in the Legion, he had been offered a lump sum and a high rate of pay to desert and work as a pilot. The job was to obey orders and not ask questions. It is not known who the recruiting agent was, but he must have seen Voss’s records to know he was a fully-trained military pilot. Out of very few desertions from the Legion over the last two years, more than half have been pilots or air mechanics. Voss seemed to know little more, his commandant was also a deserter from the Legion, known as Capitan Klein. Voss was tried, got off with a light sentence and has since disappeared. Marcel believed that any secret military air service would cost a lot of money and Marcel wanted to know who was paying and who was getting the profit. “Somewhere a smart guy was anticipating every explosion”. Raymond says “In view of what you now tell me I can see that the Foreign Legion, composed largely as it is of men without a country, would be an automatic recruiting centre of a parcel of unscrupulous rogues who put money before loyalty, honour and every other decent thing”. Biggles says Marcel has joined the Legion hoping to be recruited to this criminal organisation. Raymond says a job in such an organisation would suit Biggles old enemy, Erich von Stalhein. “I hear his Iron Curtain friends have chucked him out for bungling that Inagua affair” (A footnote then tells us to see “Biggles in the Blue”). Biggles hasn’t overlooked that possibility. Biggles says he wants to join the Legion, with a specially prepared log-book showing that he is the sort of man the gang are looking for. He would ask Ginger to go with him, both of them under assumed names. Bertie and Algy could continue duties in London “unless things should so turn out that I needed extra assistance”. Raymond says its bound to be a long job. Biggles asks Raymond to provide him with a list of names of high financiers who buy and sell in millions, with photographs, if available. As he leaves, Biggles says “I’ll keep you posted about my movements as often as I can do it with safety”.