[Marxism] 'Biggles'

[Graham M.]

Dear Marvin,
                    As I mentioned in the letter, I didn't read any other
'Biggles' books apart from the WWI ones.   There was a copy of 'Biggles of
the Camel Squadron' among our books at home when I was a kid, and I didn't
know what it was about until I started reading it (not knowing what a
Sopwith Camel was).   I think I was about eleven or twelve when I found that
volume in a bookshelf upstairs.

I knew of the existence of the WWII 'Biggles'novels, and the 'Special Air
Police' titles.   These were available in the local library;  but I never
borrowed or read them.

I've never heard of the 'Dave Dawson' character you mention.   The British
tend to get dragged behind as 'also-rans' and side-kicks as the 20th century
goes on.   I've always been a fan of 'Hogan's Heroes', but it is noticeable
that the characters with nationalities other than American in the POW camp
are subsidiary to Colonel Hogan, (Dickie Dawson plays the Britisher: there
was also a Frenchman, Le Beau).   Here in Australia, a famous novel by Frank
Hardy (a long-time member of the Communist Party of Australia), 'The
Outcasts of Foolgarrah', has an Australian as the lead character among a
group of garbage disposal workers, and an Englishman as his sidekick.

I've noticed that recently some of the later 'Biggles' stories have been
reissued in omnibus form, and also that some of the British war comics I
devoured as a teenager, like 'Commando', 'War Picture Library', etc have
been brought out in omnibus form.   There's obviously still a market for
them.

A couple of months ago I dropped into a basement shop devoted to war-gaming,
in London Court here in Perth, W.A., and had a look at
the stuff they had.   There was a lot of fantasy war-gaming material,
especially spin-offs from 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'Star Wars'.   The
historical stuff was mainly World War Two; models and games, especially
Wehrmacht.   Of course one could say that it's all history and that it might
promote the study of history, but a lop-sided concentration on war in
general, and on the Third Reich in particular, is in my view disturbing, and
is possibly a straw in the wind.    Anyway, it's all a long way from the
ideals of the youth culture of the 1960s and early '70s.

Best regards,

Graham M.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marvin Gandall" <marvgandall at videotron.ca>
To: "Graham Milner" <gkmilner at v-app.com.au>
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2008 4:32 AM
Subject: Re: [Marxism] 'Biggles'


> Ah, yes, Biggles. As in Biggles Defies The Swastika and other books, the
> first books I read on my own from my older brother's collection. But I
> remember Biggles as a Second World War ace, not WW I.  My brother also had
> the Dave Dawson series, which I also devoured. Dave Dawson of the USAF and
> his "trusty British sidekick, good old Freddy Farmer" from the RAF, who
> together destroyed the German and Japanese air forces.
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Graham M." <gkmilner at v-app.com.au>
> To: "Marv Gandall" <marvgandall at videotron.ca>
> Cc: "Marxmail" <marxism at lists.econ.utah.edu>
> Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 4:50 PM
> Subject: [Marxism] 'Biggles'
> >
> >
> > Dear N.K.,
> >                 I thought I'd write to you about Biggles.   I was a bit
> > surprised to learn that contemporary schoolboys in Australia still read
> > the
> > 'Biggles' books.   The two sons of a friend of mine were reading and
> > enjoying them back in the early 1990s, and I was intrigued to learn that
> > they and their friends in the local neighbourhood were very interested
in
> > military aviation, and that their main focus was on World War Two
> > aircraft.
> > It seems now, more than fifty or sixty years after World War Two, the
> > military conflicts of that war still dominate the consciousness of the
> > rising generations.
> >
>
>
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