Biggles was born in India in the year 1899. His
father was the Assistant Commissioner of the United Provinces
(now known as Uttar Pradesh). Travelling and living in the
villages, he picked up survival skills at an early age. Along
with his childhood friends, he had many narrow escapes (The
Boy Biggles - 1968). At the age of fourteen, Biggles was
sent back to England and went to Malton Hall School (Biggles
Goes to School - 1951), where his elder brother Charles
had also gone earlier (Charles was to die in action towards the
end of WW I). When the Great War broke out, Biggles made his way to No. 77 Flying Training School at Norfolk. Soon, he was posted to 169 Squadron to fly two-seaters. He managed to get himself transferred to 266 Squadron, and flew Sopwith Camels for the rest of the war. During his adventures at 266, he also met Algernon Lacey (Algy) - his cousin, the first of his lifelong companions (Biggles of the Camel Squadron - 1934). He also took a break into espionage in the Middle East, during which he first met Erich von Stalhein, who was to become his implacable enemy for many years (Biggles Flies East - 1935). Late in the war he had an encounter with a girl named Marie Janis, who eventually turned out to be a German spy. Biggles was promoted to Major by the end of the war.
After the war, Biggles and Algy accompanied Biggles'
uncle Dr. Richard Bigglesworth to South America, looking for lost
treasures (The Cruise of The Condor - 1933). After
working in South America for a while, Biggles and Algy flew back
to England via the Pacific and Asia (Biggles Flies Again -
1934). While escaping from the villian Blackbeard, Biggles
and Algy met Ginger, the second of Biggles' companions (The
Black Peril - 1935). Adventures followed, including a
visit to Africa (Biggles in Africa - 1936), a
treasure hunt in the Caribbean (Biggles Flies West - 1937),
and an assignment to form the Air Force of a tiny East European
country (Biggles Goes to War - 1938), before they
became involved in the Spanish Civil War and then the opening
skirmishes of World War II. A few missions were also carried out
on behalf of the British Government, these being initiated by his
friend and mentor Colonel Raymond, formerly of British
Intelligence. One such involved a visit to uncover a secret
enemy base in South-East Asia (Biggles Air Commodore - 1937)
- a region to be revisited many times later.
Biggles and his friends rejoined the RAF during the
war, the first assignment being to raid Germany from a secret
base in the Baltic Sea (Biggles in The Baltic - 1940).
Two trips to Occupied Europe followed, before Biggles took
over 666 Squadron during the Battle of Britain (Spitfire
Parade - 1941). At this time he also met Bertie Lissie,
who was to become the third and last of his permanent companions.
Later, most of the pilots in this squadron served in the Sahara (Biggles
Sweeps The Desert - 1942), and in two assignments to
South-East Asia (Biggles in The Orient - 1945 and Biggles
Delivers The Goods - 1946) , before the end of the war.
Almost as soon as the war ended, Biggles and his
three companions found themselves in the police force, chasing
down former Nazis (Sergeant Bigglesworth, CID - 1947).
Several more police cases followed, one being to Antarctica to
recover lost gold (Biggles Breaks The Silence - 1949).
A few trips were also made behind the Iron Curtain on special
missions (e.g. Biggles Gets His Men - 1950 and
Biggles in The Gobi - 1953). Another trip to Africa was to
catch the Black Raider (Biggles And The Black Raider - 1953).
On many of these missions, Biggles continued to come up against
von Stalhein, who was now working for the Russians (e.g. Biggles
in The Blue - 1953, Biggles in Australia - 1955,
and No Rest For Biggles - 1956). Eventually, von
Stalhein was imprisoned by his employers, and rescued by Biggles
from a Soviet prison, thus ending their long enmity. (Biggles
Buries a Hatchet - 1958). Air Police cases continued to
take Biggles and his friends both around Britain (Biggles
And The Poor Rich Boy - 1960, Biggles Takes it Rough - 1963,
Biggles And The Dark Intruder - 1967) as well as overseas
(Biggles Goes Home - 1960, Orchids For Biggles - 1962,
Biggles And The Blue Moon - 1965). Almost all of the 65
books published after the war deal with Air Police cases and
special missions.
Biggles was reunited with another long-lost friend
when he and von Stalhein worked together to rescue Marie Janis
from behind the Iron Curtain (Biggles Looks Back - 1965).
Several Air Police adventures followed, including his last
overseas assignment (Biggles And The Little Green God -
1969), before the last one, Biggles Sees Too Much,
appeared in 1970.