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| Erich Von Stalhein Image from yabs.isambard.com.au/ |
“In appearance he was tall, slim, and good-looking in a rather foppish way, but he had been a soldier for many years, and there was a grim relentless about his manner that quickly told Biggles that he was a man to be feared….wounded early in the war…[Von Stalhein] walked with a permanent limp with the aid of two sticks, and this physical defect added something to his sinister bearing….he was dark, with cold brooding eyes that were hard to meet and held a steel like quality that the monocle he habitually wore could not dispel.”
--Biggles
Flies East
I’m somewhat surprised by this, because I
had always assumed that Erich was around the same age as Biggles, as he was the
same rank (Captain) when they met. However, rereading the above paragraph makes
me think that he must be quite a bit older. The fact that he was wounded “early
in the war” suggests that he has at least a couple of years on Biggles, as does
the fact that he had been a soldier “for many years”.
Incidentally, I had assumed from Flies East that the Von Stalhein limp
was fake, because there is a bit towards the end where Von Stalhein is seen to
drop his sticks and run with some agility, but either Johns forgot, or
something else happened to Von Stalhein in WWII, because in some of the air
police books he is seen to limp again.
By the way, what is it with Johns and
monocles?
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| Biggles Flies East Image links to Amazon |
Biggles and Erich don’t exactly hit it off
at first sight:
“Biggles sensed a latent hostility from the first moment that they met, and felt it throughout the interview. It was almost as if the man suspected him of being an imposter but did not dare question the actions of those who had been responsible for his employment.”
--Biggles
Flies East
No fool, our Erich, which makes it even
more surprising that he doesn’t seem to have ever been promoted after meeting
Biggles. He constantly refers to Biggles as “Major Bigglesworth” throughout
WWII (and also in some of the air police books, I believe), and Biggles
similarly always refers to him as Hauptmann Von Stalhein. Surely Von Stalhein
would have gotten some sort of recognition for his hard work? Or was Biggles
responsible for his continued lack of promotion?
Maybe because EVS worked so much in Intelligence during the wars a lot of his work went publicly unrecognized. Perhaps he was rewarded in ways other than rank - after all he does seem to have been able to buy himself and live in a rather splendid castle by the time of 'Biggles and Co.)Or was the castle inherited? Didn't I read somewhere that EVS was connected to the German aristocricy - or did I imagine that?
ReplyDeleteOne thing which has always puzzled/concerned me about EVS is his similarity in appearance to Bertie Lissie. They have both at times been described as tall, foppish, effeminate.... they both wear a monocle and, most worrying of all,in 'Flying Detective' Bertie gets shot in the leg and we are told he will consequently have one leg shorter than the other and will walk with a permanent limp! We now have two tall,foppish, monocled, limping men ....
ReplyDeleteA disturbing thought has just occured to me. Are Bertie and EVS one and the same person!!! Is EVS working under cover (he played the same stunt in flies East, he could do it again!)
Is that why EVS is always so clued up about Biggles promotions and activities....?
Has he played the ultimate fast one on Biggles...?
But if so surely Algy would have rumbled the plot - he seems to like Bertie as a person and loathes EVS.
I have always assumed that EVS was several years older than Biggles not just a couple of years. In subsequent books, he always sounds as if he is older.
ReplyDeleteAlso he was not your normal serving officer. He was particularly trained as an intelligence agent. And in later books he does appear as head of this that and the other intelligence unit, for example in Biggles Secret Agent.
As for his limp - don't forget the crash at the end of Swastika when he was thought to have been killed. It must be quite likely that he was seriously injured and perhaps his assumed limp became a real one.
Also, in Biggles & Co do you think EVS actually owned the castle?
ReplyDeleteI always imagined it was simply a German base and he was put in charge, not that it was his castle. Like in Secret Agent where he is in charge but it isn't his castle.
Unless he owned several castles in different countries :-)
I agree with JJ--so many people have pointed out the obvious similarities that Bertie shares with Erich. (Is it like Superman where he puts on a pair of glasses and becomes Clark Kent? Surely even Biggles would find it hard to fall for that. He's not blind...or, well..he did marry Jane...so clearly...)
ReplyDeleteJohns seems to have been very careless with EVS. In later books he is described as fair (even though in Flies East he's dark), and sometimes he can fly and sometimes he can't. And sometimes he has a monocle and sometimes he doesn't.
It wouldn't surprise me if Erich was rich. I don't think he did any of his schemes for the money (and if he did he would be broke by now, seeing as how Biggles broke all of them up)
It's Christmas so I'm going to go easy on you all - BERTIE IS NOT EVS. so there! They have many times appeared in the same scene together. One is of German aristocracy, the other is of English aristocracy.Bertie was in short pants when EVS first appeared (sorry, SC but I don't believe Bertie was old enough to take part in WWI). The very thought of it! I'm shocked and stunned!! No and no and No!
ReplyDeleteOk,rant over. First of all, I must correct an error. EVS is Prussian, not German, definitely got that wrong, sorry. I agree there appears to be similarities between Bertie and EVS but if one of them was not wearing a monocle would anyone have commented on them? Perhaps they both share physical characteristics with a score of aristocratic families scattered throughout europe. There as far as I'm concerned, any similarities end. Bertie is true blue, EVS Prussian to the bone. Two totally different upbringings. two totally different characters, with their moral compasses set differently.Biggles got the best of the bargain, no doubt about it.
ReplyDeleteIt's not just the monocle. As JJ mentioned, they both have a limp, they're both upper class, they're both described as being foppish (is that a nice way to say they are not manly men, or more about their clothing choices?)
ReplyDeleteI really don't think they have different moral compasses. They each live by their own sets of principles and rules. EVS is as honorable in his own way as Biggles and co are.
As Bertie's age isn't really discussed in the canon works, I'm going to go on assuming that he did fly in WWI (because if he didn't I wouldn't be able to write my fics)
Maybe EVS and Bertie are long lost twins separated at birth :P
When I mentioned moral compasses I probably worded it wrongly. EVS is honorable in his way and Biggles, of course has always said this. I think what I should have said is the fact that EVS has a cold-blooded streak about him, a ruthlessness which Bertie does not have. With regard to their appearance, I take your point, but Bertie's limp came later and apart from a brief mention in a later book it is not referred to again. The question I would ask is, in shadow and/ or in a highly emotional moment, are the similarities enough for them to be mistaken for each other? Bertie being mistaken for EVS or vice-versa? (ok by me as long as Bertie isn't shot by his own side, or anyone's side for that matter) Interesting theory of twins separated at birth, might be a fanfic for you.
ReplyDeleteI would tend to agree with you. Erich seems older and more grim and ruthless than Bertie, who is fairly easygoing and only fights when he has to.
ReplyDeleteHaving never seen them side by side I wouldn't be able to comment on whether or not they really do look alike, or if it was just WEJ's wording that made it seem so.
Sorry Soppy. I'm another who firmly believes Bertie did NOT fly in WWI. In 'Spitfire Parade', Bertie is referred to as a young man. Biggles by this time was 41. Back then, Biggles was on the old side to be an active fighter pilot. Also, wen states that Bertie went to Cranwell. This implies that Bertie had sought a career in the RAF prior to WWII. Check to see when Cranwell was established - it was definitely post WWI. Biggles also refers to Bertie and Ginger as "fledglings" in 'Looks Back' - implying that they are both a bit younger than both Algy and himself.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you about evs's moral compass. Biggles commented on Erich's having lost sight of his inherent values on more than one occasion in the SAP years. Biggles was a fairly astute judge of character (leaving the evil Marie out of the equation) and he had a level of respect for evs - both for his abilities and his character. I think Biggles was quite disappointed when evs seemed to lose touch with those values. Algy, of course, uncompromisingly loathed him, didn't trust him (quite rightly so), and just shook his head over Biggles' altruistic tendencies concerning eve.
Soppy, can you tell me if it's possible to edit and correct typos once comments have been posted? I see that my brilliant predictive text function changed 'wej' to 'wen' and I didn't notice until after the comment was posted!
ReplyDeleteBiggles has been known to refer to Algy as "kid" on various occasions too, I believe...:)
ReplyDeleteAnd no, sadly at present one cannot correct typos on the blog, but I'm working on some code that might be able to let us.
It does sound strange sometimes when Biggles calls Algy, who we know is only slightly younger than Biggles himself,kid.But I would imagine that by the time Algy joined Biggles in 266, Biggles, would have felt himself to be much much older than his fresh-faced, eager young cousin, coming as he,Algy, was, straight out of school and with only a handful of flying hours under his belt. At this point Biggles had endured at least a year of fighting in the war,his nerves were frayed and there were lines graven around his mouth and eyes caused by the strain of the dreadful things he had witnessed. He must have felt so much older than his laughing, joking cousin and so many of the other young recruits who turned up at 266. The notion probably stuck and he probably always felt himself to be older than many of his comrades (Algy and Bertie included),in experience if not in years.
ReplyDeleteBiggles just doesn't have the carefree attitude that makes our Algy so wonderful. :)
ReplyDeleteStrangely Biggles also calls Ginger kid at times, but never Bertie. Out of respect, perhaps?
Difficult to imagine Bertie as a kid.
ReplyDeleteDid he wear a monocle? (How old does one have to be to start wearing a monocle?)
Was he always eccentric?
Did he talk the same way even as a seven year old...? The mind boggles, what?
I know. I would love to see what Bertie was like as a ten year old. Serious? Did he wear glasses?
ReplyDeleteI found a reference to Bertie's childhood in Scores a Bull. an old acquaintance of his father's describes him as a "sandy-haired, freckled faced kid..." Freckles? Bertie? Can't get my head around that one.
ReplyDeleteWEJ loves freckles. Algy and Ginger had them too I think. As well as the sidekick girl in the Worrals books.
ReplyDeleteBertie with freckles...? No...no...
ReplyDeleteNO! That's almost as bad as learning Biggles once had a moustache! It just doesn't fit my mental image of him at all.
I have always seen Bertie as a bit of a David Niven look-alilke myself - think it was that mention of the wispy moustache in Spitfire Parade.
What happened to everyone's freckles, I wonder? Algy has freckles all through WWI and then they are never mentioned again.
ReplyDeleteJJ, that was my reaction when I read the description. And I do imagine a David Niven look-alike myself. But in later books WEJ seldom described the four again unless through an enemy's eyes in which case it's usually generic, slim, grim mouth etc. So freckles disappeared. Perhaps he thought they were too frivolous. Algy with freckles, yes, but Bertie, no.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean, Algy with freckles, yes, Bertie, no? *rabid Algy fangirl emerges*
ReplyDeleteSorry, I'll explain. When we first met Algy in the boob he was described as having a 'mass of freckles'. Therefor we've always associated algy with having had freckles. The first mention of Bertie ever having had freckles is in a very late book so he's always been freckleless, if you see what I mean. *cringe, cringe, creep, creep*
ReplyDeleteHmm. All right...I'll let it go...for now. I like the idea of the young Algy with freckles, but I'm thinking he lost them as he got older (and stayed more at home and not in the sun grrr).
ReplyDelete