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| Biggles of 266 cover. Image from Wikipedia. |
It’s Thanksgiving and Christmas is just
around the corner, which is a perfect time to write a review about the WWI Christmas
story, “The Turkey”.
For me, it’s nice to have turkey on the
menu for Christmas dinner, but I’m okay without it. For Biggles, however,
Christmas dinner without turkey is unheard of. (Really, Biggles! You do know
you’re at war here?)
But just how far is Biggles willing to go for
a turkey dinner?
In “The Turkey” (Biggles of 266), we see W.E. Johns’ hero risking his life to put
turkey on the mess table for Christmas. The story kicks off with Biggles
complaining about the lack of a turkey for Christmas dinner, and volunteering
to get one. Destination: a turkey farm on the wrong side of the lines.
Reaching the turkey farm without incident,
Biggles proceeds to catch himself a turkey—harder than it looks, apparently,
though having never tried to catch a turkey bare-handed before it’s hard for me
to vouch for the authenticity of the description.
However, before Biggles can kill the turkey
or even render it unconscious, the Huns start coming after him, so back in his
Camel he has to go. What follows is a delightful account of Why Not To Sit On A
Live Turkey When You Are A War Pilot Trying To Fight A Hun—or is it?
The mad antics of Biggles, the bird, and
even the Hun make for amusing and terrifying reading. We are sure that at any
minute Biggles will be thrown out of the cockpit by his turkey, or shot down in
flames by the Hun. The final result is both unexpected and relieving. Johns is
truly a master at description and scene-setting.
Just how far should one be willing to go for
a turkey?
Perhaps it’s better to stick to chicken or
pork after all!
By the way, Algy fans will be happy to note
that there is a brief, but lovely Algy bit in this short story where he
attempts to go after Biggles after Biggles storms out of the mess, gets into his
Camel and goes off in a huff. Fantastic display of Algy’s trademark loyalty
there.
Really good reviews here, Sopwith. I like the way you convey the spirit of the story without giving away all the plot (I get really annoyed when people do that!) This is one of my all time favourite stories, and it shows why Biggles was a big success so quickly with the public.
ReplyDeleteI like the slapstick-ness of the story, and it gives us a nice moment among the grim bits of war.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind spoilers myself, but I know that some people don't like them, so I try not to give too much away if I can help it. Anyway, sometimes a little mystery can get people who've already read the book going back to their shelves and going, "What DID happen after that, I wonder?"