BIGGLES ON THE HOME FRONT
Book First Published in August 1957 - 190 pages
I believe this Biggles book was never serialised elsewhere. If anybody knows differently then please E-MAIL ME
First edition dust jacket showing the original price of 8
shillings and 6 pence
Biggles is asked by Inspector
Gaskin to help him catch a fence, that is, a handler of stolen goods. Gaskin
believes this mystery person must be using an aeroplane to fly stolen goods out
of the country. A fake news report of a serious theft is circulated in the
papers. Biggles then goes to the Barnstable Arms in Soho, a well known watering-hole for criminals, to show off
some of the proceeds and see who is interested in them. Approaching a criminal
called Gus Norman and pretending to know of him through a mutual acquaintance,
Biggles shows him a stolen gold mount. This leads to an approach being made to
Biggles to sell it, and he does, to a mystery man wearing an RAF tie, at
Victoria Station. Biggles is then approached for the stone that was set in the
mount. The police, by following Norman, have trailed him to the train station
at a place called Hertford. Biggles and Ginger keep watch at this station and
see a black Daimler car drop Norman off. They then follow the Daimler to a
large country house. Booking in to a local hotel, Biggles bumps into an old
friend, Bill Reverley who is with the man in the RAF
tie whom Biggles met briefly at Victoria Station. The man is introduced as
Verney Laxter. Biggles bluffs his way out of the
situation. Biggles and Ginger go and investigate the large country house by
flying over it and taking photographs. This is the picture on the dustcover of
the book. Reverley is murdered in a plane crash when
sugar is put in his fuel after turning down a job with the crooks. Biggles is
then offered the job that Reverley has turned down.
When Biggles is taken, with Ginger, to the large country house, they find that
their cover has been blown and they are exposed as police officers. They are
locked in the cellar. Algy and Bertie go to investigate the house after
arranging a police raid with Inspector Gaskin. Further jewellery thefts have
taken place and the police raid is just in time, as the crooks are vacating the
house for good, having set fire to it. The fire was meant to destroy any
evidence as well as kill Biggles and Ginger locked in the cellar.
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Biggles on the Home Front
Subtitle - An adventure of Biggles and his Air Police Pilots in
and around London
Publication Details - published by Hodder and Stoughton
Frontispiece
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