THE BOY BIGGLES

by Captain W. E. Johns

NB - IN THIS BOOK BIGGLES IS REFERRED TO AS “JAMES” BUT FOR THE SAKE OF THE STORY SUMMARIES; I HAVE REFERRED TO HIM AS BIGGLES.

XIV IN CONCLUSION (Pages 181 - 182)

“Not by the wildest stretch of the imagination could young James Bigglesworth (or anyone else of his age) have foreseen the momentous events that were to rock the world in a single lifetime; wars that were to reshape countries, change the colours on nearly every page of the atlas and make geography, as it was then taught, as out of date as the prehistoric monsters that once roamed the earth. Men were striving to reach the Poles as they now grope for the moon. Some countries have vanished, their original inhabitants with them, or changed out of recognition. New ones have been created, new capital cities established, great areas renamed. What in Biggles’ early days were blanks on the map now have teeming populations. Native tribal chiefs in what was called “Darkest Africa” now ride in motor cars. Mud huts have been replaced with palaces and skyscrapers that house refrigerators and television sets. All this in a lifetime. These changes must be borne in mind when reading the Biggles books, particularly the earlier ones. As it has not been practicable to change the place names in the many books the original ones remain, and the reader must adjust himself accordingly. No less astonishing have been scientific and technical development. When Biggles was a boy “penny-farthing” bicycles were still on the road. A new vehicle called an automobile had to be preceded by a man with a red flag. There were no aeroplanes. Even when on leaving school he learned to fly, a speed of seventy miles an hour was the limit. Against a head wind a plane could make little, if any, progress. None carried more than two people. They had this advantage. In an emergency they could land almost anywhere; which was just was well, for structural and engine failure were common and aerodromes few and far between. There were no passenger services, no radio, much less television. What from a schoolboy’s view was more important, however, was that a penny would buy a quarter of a pound of chocolates or other sweets. The reader has only to look around to see the changes, even in the way of thought, that grew up with Biggles”.