HISTORY

Landshut, 30 miles east of Munich. From here

he escaped, towards the end of October 1918,

and was at liberty for four or five days before being recaptured whilst stealing apples. He

was then transferred to a 'bad boys' camp at

Ingolstadt, and it was whilst Johns was there

that the war ended on November 11, 1918. He

returned to his family on Christmas Day 1918,

much to their astonishment as he had been

listed as missing and they had presumed that

he had been killed, until the moment he walked

through the door.

Back to civilian life

After the war, Johns didn't want to return to life

as a sanitary inspector, as he preferred to stay

in the Royal Air Force. However, the Armed Forces were being drastically reduced to peacetime levels. Initially Johns was posted as a flying

instructor to Cranwell but by April 11, 1919, he

was transferred to the 'Unemployed List' which

meant no pay. His marriage to his wife Maude,

was breaking down. She had developed acute

arthritis and Jack was a sickly child. Johns took

up painting, a childhood hobby, until on November 23, 1920 he was reinstated on the RAF Active

List for a three-year commission and promoted to the new RAF rank of full Lieutenant. He

was sent to join the Inspectorate of Recruiting

in London's Covent Garden and the family moved to Lancaster Gate. It was here that Johns

recruited 'John Hume Ross' into the RAF. Hume

was in fact ‘Lawrence of Arabia’. Johns actually rejected Lawrence because he didn't like

his attitude, but he was forced to take him by

higher authority. Between 1921 and 1924, Johns

claims that he spent time serving in Iraq and

India, but his RAF records do not show that he

served outside the UK. Friends from that time

have said that Johns did not serve in Iraq and

India, and he was simply 'gilding the lily'. Speaking of which, this may be the appropriate time

to mention that Johns' title 'Captain' was self-imposed. If asked, he would say it was his old

RFC rank, but Johns was a 'Flying Officer' which

was the equivalent of Lieutenant. It appears

that Johns gave himself a promotion purely because children would more easily understand

what a Captain was, rather than a 'Flying Officer'. It is not known whether Johns really did

serve in India and Iraq, or whether he merely

picked up stories from other officers who had

served there. His books, a number of which are

set in those countries, certainly have the ring of

authenticity about them, as if they were written

by someone who was familiar with those countries. Johns also produced artwork from those

places, which may indicate his claims are true,

but the real truth is something of a mystery. In

1922 Johns wrote his first novel "MOSSYFACE".

It was published by the Weekly Telegraph Novel

under the pseudonym William Earle (note Johns

adding the "e"). In 1923 his RAF commission was

extended another four years and Johns was in

Birmingham working on RAF recruitment. By

this time, his wife and son had moved back to

live with her father, the Reverend Hunt, the marriage having completely broken down. Johns

wanted a divorce, but the Reverend would have

none of it and Maude wouldn't go against her father's wishes. Whilst living in a hotel in Hackney

Road, Edgbaston, Johns got friendly with the

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Leigh family next door. He fell in love with Doris May Leigh (born September 6, 1900) and explained his situation to her. When Johns was posted to Newcastle, Doris went with him, calling

herself Doris Johns and they were inseparable

until the day he died. Johns continued to pay for

his wife and son's upkeep as well as for nurses

to look after Maude.

Illustrator and Author

In 1927, Johns' commission in the RAF was coming to an end and he had started making a living by selling his artwork to various magazines

such as the Illustrated London News. He specialized in aviation art and moved to Lingfield in

Surrey to a cottage with a studio. Doris's family

moved nearby and her brother Howard Leigh,

then 18, joined Johns to learn to be an artist as

well. Howard Leigh was to become a famous

aviation artist and illustrated many of the early Biggles books. Johns began selling aviation

illustrations to THE MODERN BOY magazine, published by Amalgamated Press from February

11, 1928 and soon after started writing aviation

articles. These were initially credited to 'Our Aviation Expert' but by 1930, were being credited to

Flying Officer Johns. In 1931, Johns edited two

books, THE MODERN BOY'S BOOK OF AIRCRAFT

and WINGS: A BOOK OF FLYING ADVENTURES.

John Hamilton Ltd, a publisher that specialized

in aviation books, published the latter. Johns

then illustrated THE PICTORIAL FLYING COURSE

with text by Harry Schofield. A few months later

Johns wrote FIGHTING PLANES AND ACES.

John Hamilton Ltd decided to launch a new aviation magazine and they asked Johns to edit it.

POPULAR FLYING, aimed at an adult market,

was first published on March 16, 1932 (cover dated April 1932). Wanting to write authentic stories about flying in the Great War, Johns decided

to create a fictional airman for the first issue

and James Bigglesworth, known as 'Biggles',

was born.

Biggles first appeared in Popular Flying Volume

1, No. 1, April 1932 credited as being written by

'William Earle'. In August 1932, John Hamilton

published a collection of Biggles stories as THE

CAMELS ARE COMING. This was the first Biggles book and Biggles was to become a British

Institution.

Period advert for the first Biggles stories in The Modern Boy Magazine.

INFO Eduard - September 2021