Character Close-Up: Post WWI Algy

Cruise of the Condor opens with about a page and a half describing our heroes, Biggles and Algy. As this is an Algy site, I am of course more concerned with the description of Algy.

Cover of The Cruise of the Condor.
Image links to Amazon.

Find it on Kindle: Biggles and Cruise of the Condor

Johns informs us that, compared to Biggles, Algy was:

 “…about the same age, perhaps a trifle younger, but rather stocky in build. His round freckled face, surmounted by an untidy crop of fair hair, carried eyes that twinkled humorously at the slightest pretext.”

--Biggles in the Cruise of the Condor

Excuse me? “Stocky in build?” WHAT?? Our Algy is stocky in build?

Close up of Algy in Cruise of the Condor.
Image from http://algylacey.0catch.com/. 

I remember reading Condor for the first time, just spending perhaps five minutes or so staring at the offending words and wondering if there was some mistake. Like, maybe it wasn't Algy after all but someone else. Or maybe someone had carelessly put a Biggles cover on a book that wasn't about Biggles.

No. No such luck.

The second half of the paragraph calmed me somewhat:

 “There was little about [Biggles and Algy] to show that they had been two of the most brilliant air fighters in the war, who were known on the British side as nearly invincible, and on the German side as a combination to be avoided.”

--Biggles in the Cruise of the Condor

That “nearly” in front of the invincible rankles a little, but not enough to cause a temper tantrum. 

A little later we learn that Biggles (who is now a major and has grey eyes instead of hazel) is the “victor of thirty-five confirmed combats and many others unclaimed”.

Underneath that we learn that Algy finished WWI as a captain/flight-commander….

 “…with twenty victories signed up in his log book.”

--Biggles in the Cruise of the Condor

What?? What??? And yet again, WHAT????!!!

Are you seriously telling me that Algy only got twenty confirmed combats to Biggles’ thirty-five? Remember that even Wilks’ had eighteen victories to Biggles’ dozen in Pioneer Air Fighter, and then try looking me in the eye and telling me that all the times Algy went on crazy missions, saved Biggles’ life, and just went plain crazy-Algy-fighting-mad only added up to twenty victories.

I know. It’s just not possible. It must be that he simply didn't bother to write up his combat reports. I can’t think of any other explanation for this.

Better go and lie down now. I feel positively faint.