Share The Love: Bertie

I didn't know what to make of Bertie when I first read the Biggles books as a kid. My first meeting with Bertie was when I was reading the novelization of that movie, where he didn't really shine. (To be fair, no one really shone in that novelization of that movie, so it wasn't Bertie's fault.) The second time I met Bertie was in Biggles Flying Detective, where he got plenty of action chasing the bad guys, meeting Wilks (who he claims never to have met before, even though Wilks appears frequently in Spitfire Parade...did Johns forget about that? Was there any particular reason why Bertie had to have not met Wilks? Wouldn't it have been much easier for Bertie to see Wilks and say, "Ah, splendid, old boy. What a bit of luck running into you! You see Biggles has..."? Another mystery for us fans to ponder over!)

Some readers have claimed that Bertie is...slightly lacking in intelligence, or, at least, acts like he is. Biggles is often sarcastic and impatient with him and his ideas, and Bertie himself frequently admits that he isn't one for planning and taking charge and whatnot (strangely he is the only one of the four who does admit to that. I've never heard Algy or Ginger voice doubts about their own abilities, and for Biggles, of course, taking charge is as natural as breathing air.) However, before the rabid Bertie fans start loading their guns, let me point out that Bertie is by no means a bad leader. He has very clear ideas about right and wrong and expects other people to follow his example (as in Spitfire Parade when he first takes his new flight members out for an escorting mission). He is uncomfortable leading other people to deal with the unknown (as in Defends the Desert when he lets Ginger work out the plan of action) but he works very well on his own.

Bertie is clearly a good pilot/fighter. In Spitfire Parade Tex notes that he has "a couple of gongs". In Works It Out Ginger says to Marcel that if Bertie had wanted to shoot him down, he wouldn't be there because he would have been shot down. (Always loved it when Marcel stormed into the office asking why Bertie was shooting at him only to be told that by Ginger!)

I quite like how apologetic Bertie is whenever he gets hurt. In Flying Detective when he gets shot he tells Biggles that he "got his leg in the way. Silly thing to do" before passing out. Similarly in No Rest For Biggles when he is wounded by some natives he says to Biggles that he is sorry to cause everyone so much trouble!

But of course many of us love Bertie for his crazy antics--almost as legendary as Algy's--jumping into a river in Biggles Takes A Holiday because Algy jokingly suggests it, playing dead in Hunts Big Game (and getting quite indignant over the state of his clothes), clapping a cooking pot onto someone's head in Makes Ends Meet...

What are your favorite Bertie moments? Share the love in the comments section below!