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Worrals #4
Worrals on the War-Path
Worrals had an idea.
That idea involved operating in enemy territory. At best, the plan was dangerous and would never have been sanctioned but for the stakes involved. In proof, it was more desperate than it seemed.
No one could have counted on the presence in Carnac of the Vichy Agent, Duclos. No One could have foreseen that the loyal people of the Cévennes would take action which would have brought a horde of Gestapo men to their very doors. At the head of these investigations was von Brandisch, who had already had one encounter with Worrals and smarted from it. He was a foe to be reckoned with, he neither forgot nor forgave.
That idea involved operating in enemy territory. At best, the plan was dangerous and would never have been sanctioned but for the stakes involved. In proof, it was more desperate than it seemed.
No one could have counted on the presence in Carnac of the Vichy Agent, Duclos. No One could have foreseen that the loyal people of the Cévennes would take action which would have brought a horde of Gestapo men to their very doors. At the head of these investigations was von Brandisch, who had already had one encounter with Worrals and smarted from it. He was a foe to be reckoned with, he neither forgot nor forgave.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 1943
1 person is currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
W.E. Johns
610 books115 followersInvariably known as Captain W.E. Johns, William Earl Johns was born in Bengeo, Hertfordshire, England. He was the son of Richard Eastman Johns, a tailor, and Elizabeth Johns (née Earl), the daughter of a master butcher. He had a younger brother, Russell Ernest Johns, who was born on 24 October 1895.
He went to Hertford Grammar School where he was no great scholar but he did develop into a crack shot with a rifle. This fired his early ambition to be a soldier. He also attended evening classes at the local art school.
In the summer of 1907 he was apprenticed to a county municipal surveyor where he remained for four years and then in 1912 he became a sanitary inspector in Swaffham, Norfolk. Soon after taking up this appointment, his father died of tuberculosis at the age of 47.
On 6 October 1914 he married Maude Penelope Hunt (1882–1961), the daughter of the Reverend John Hunt, the vicar at Little Dunham in Norfolk. The couple had one son, William Earl Carmichael Johns, who was born in March 1916.
With war looming he joined the Territorial Army as a Private in the King's Own Royal Regiment (Norfolk Yeomanry), a cavalry regiment. In August 1914 his regiment was mobilised and was in training and on home defence duties until September 1915 when they received embarkation orders for duty overseas.
He fought at Gallipoli and in the Suez Canal area and, after moving to the Machine gun Corps, he took part in the spring offensive in Salonika in April 1917. He contracted malaria and whilst in hospital he put in for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps and on 26 September 1917, he was given a temporary commission as a Second Lieutenant and posted back to England to learn to fly, which he did at No. 1 School of Aeronautics at Reading, where he was taught by a Captain Ashton.
He was posted to No. 25 Flying Training School at Thetford where he had a charmed existence, once writing off three planes in three days. He moved to Yorkshire and was then posted to France and while on a bombing raid to Mannheim his plane was shot down and he was wounded. Captured by the Germans, he later escaped before being reincarcerated where he remained until the war ended.
He went to Hertford Grammar School where he was no great scholar but he did develop into a crack shot with a rifle. This fired his early ambition to be a soldier. He also attended evening classes at the local art school.
In the summer of 1907 he was apprenticed to a county municipal surveyor where he remained for four years and then in 1912 he became a sanitary inspector in Swaffham, Norfolk. Soon after taking up this appointment, his father died of tuberculosis at the age of 47.
On 6 October 1914 he married Maude Penelope Hunt (1882–1961), the daughter of the Reverend John Hunt, the vicar at Little Dunham in Norfolk. The couple had one son, William Earl Carmichael Johns, who was born in March 1916.
With war looming he joined the Territorial Army as a Private in the King's Own Royal Regiment (Norfolk Yeomanry), a cavalry regiment. In August 1914 his regiment was mobilised and was in training and on home defence duties until September 1915 when they received embarkation orders for duty overseas.
He fought at Gallipoli and in the Suez Canal area and, after moving to the Machine gun Corps, he took part in the spring offensive in Salonika in April 1917. He contracted malaria and whilst in hospital he put in for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps and on 26 September 1917, he was given a temporary commission as a Second Lieutenant and posted back to England to learn to fly, which he did at No. 1 School of Aeronautics at Reading, where he was taught by a Captain Ashton.
He was posted to No. 25 Flying Training School at Thetford where he had a charmed existence, once writing off three planes in three days. He moved to Yorkshire and was then posted to France and while on a bombing raid to Mannheim his plane was shot down and he was wounded. Captured by the Germans, he later escaped before being reincarcerated where he remained until the war ended.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 15, 2016
I’m a big fan of Biggles, the pilot and adventurer created by Capt. W.E. Johns, and when I recently found he had also written a series of books featuring Flight Officer Joan Worralson or ‘Worrals’, a female version of Biggles from World War Two I was amazed. One of the appeals of Johns’ books is they are so old fashioned. They are great adventure stories written for teenage boys from a past generation and are naturally therefore full of old fashioned values and ideas that we find uncomfortable today, but it’s unusual to hear of any books written from that time featuring such a female role model and so I had to read at least one. I’m so glad I did. Written in 1943 while Britain was still at war with Germany and before the D-Day landings, this book was obviously part propaganda and showed Britain and her allies in a far better light than her enemies (and why not), and because it was contemporary in many ways it’s like taking a glimpse back in time to what attitudes and people were like back then. A modern day feminist might therefore cringe in places but nonetheless, John’s needs crediting for creating such an admirable and strong female character as Worrals and her side kick Frecks. The story was none stop action and full of page turning twists and turns the same as any Biggles book. It would have undoubtedly appealed to any teenage boy or girl at the time and I can vouch even middle aged men reading it over seventy years after it was first written. I’ve since ordered another from the series and am thoroughly looked forward to it.
February 5, 2026
Flight Officer Joan Worralson of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) Intelligence Division is called to see her Commanding Officer when a tricky problem had come up in the Operations Division. Sending aircraft by the sea route to help Malta was taking too long and Squadron Leader Yorke was looking for other ways to fly aircraft there quicker but was conscious that flying over Europe would be difficult as finding a suitable place for refuelling would be a problem.
However, Worrals who had spent time wandering in France pre-war had an idea and suggested that there was a place that she knew in the sparsely populated Cévennes district. The idea was initially frowned upon because of the area's mountainous terrain but Worrals knew of an are that had a large plateau and would be suitable for aircraft landing. And with a series of caves nearby, she suggested that it would be a suitable location to store petrol for the aircraft to refuel without too much interference. And although France was partly occupied, the Cévennes region was not so much so.
After much debate a plan was devised and Worrals and her companion Betty Lovell, nicknamed 'Frecks' due to her freckled complexion, were charged to go and set the location up. Thus began a breath-taking series of events that saw the duo pitted again an old adversary, von Brandisch, and a variety of other Nazis, including Gestapo members as they surreptitiously land in France, set up their relay station, arrange deliveries from a large transport aircraft to land fuel and food and finally arrange for the Spitfire convoys heading for Malta to land and refuel on their journey.
Even with the help of resistance workers, to do so without alerting the Germans proves difficult and leads to untold difficulties, none more so than when Worrals has to flee the site in a German 'plane. The excitement mounts in this thrilling narrative which also gives a fine description of the Cévennes terrain before the task is completed with Worrals and Flecks making a daring escape to return to England ... and to seek further adventure.
However, Worrals who had spent time wandering in France pre-war had an idea and suggested that there was a place that she knew in the sparsely populated Cévennes district. The idea was initially frowned upon because of the area's mountainous terrain but Worrals knew of an are that had a large plateau and would be suitable for aircraft landing. And with a series of caves nearby, she suggested that it would be a suitable location to store petrol for the aircraft to refuel without too much interference. And although France was partly occupied, the Cévennes region was not so much so.
After much debate a plan was devised and Worrals and her companion Betty Lovell, nicknamed 'Frecks' due to her freckled complexion, were charged to go and set the location up. Thus began a breath-taking series of events that saw the duo pitted again an old adversary, von Brandisch, and a variety of other Nazis, including Gestapo members as they surreptitiously land in France, set up their relay station, arrange deliveries from a large transport aircraft to land fuel and food and finally arrange for the Spitfire convoys heading for Malta to land and refuel on their journey.
Even with the help of resistance workers, to do so without alerting the Germans proves difficult and leads to untold difficulties, none more so than when Worrals has to flee the site in a German 'plane. The excitement mounts in this thrilling narrative which also gives a fine description of the Cévennes terrain before the task is completed with Worrals and Flecks making a daring escape to return to England ... and to seek further adventure.
October 16, 2022
Increasingly, I am a huge Worrals fan! Teenage boys had Biggles for their hero, and teenage girls could aspire to be like the brave and clever Worrals, or her sidekick Frecks.
As in Worrals of the WAAF our heroines find themselves back in Occupied France. However, we now have a more confident and almost ruthless Worrals, who takes charge at the beginning of the book, and whips everyone into shape for an exciting and quite believable conclusion. I was wondering yet again why Frecks was chosen to accompany Worrals on the mission, as she is mostly clueless and annoying.. but at one point she is required to step up and take charge herself, and finally Frecks gets a chance to shine.
A cracking story, well told. By jingo old bean, what more could we ask for?
I was lucky enough to get one of the very old hard cover copies of this book to read, complete with the original illustrations. Much preferable to what I suppose passes for more modern illustrations in the more recent books.
As in Worrals of the WAAF our heroines find themselves back in Occupied France. However, we now have a more confident and almost ruthless Worrals, who takes charge at the beginning of the book, and whips everyone into shape for an exciting and quite believable conclusion. I was wondering yet again why Frecks was chosen to accompany Worrals on the mission, as she is mostly clueless and annoying.. but at one point she is required to step up and take charge herself, and finally Frecks gets a chance to shine.
A cracking story, well told. By jingo old bean, what more could we ask for?
I was lucky enough to get one of the very old hard cover copies of this book to read, complete with the original illustrations. Much preferable to what I suppose passes for more modern illustrations in the more recent books.
September 3, 2024
A fun story - even if I was thrown off on page one by the unconventional opening chapter whereby Worrals and Frecks are already in France, and they immediately flashback to their commanding officer giving them the assignment to go. It’s a pretty good story, rather predictable in parts. I preferred the very first Worrals stories where the pair fall into their adventures during routine service, bur I guess the series is quite realistic in building each novel upon the last, with heightening cases and recurring characters. 3 stars.
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August 15, 2023absolute banger end to end. worrals i am free on thursday let me know if you can hang out on thursday when i am free
October 29, 2023
My ex was a big Biggles collector, which meant I have avoided the series for years, but spotted this Worrals book at the vintage shop and couldn't help buying it. It is everything you would expect for a book about a female pilot written by a man in the middle of World War Two. By which I mean it has pretty much every stereotype you would expect and that if you hadn't been told that Worrals was a girl the only way you'd be able to tell was because of the very light not even quite sure it really is flirting with the French aristo who is helping them with their plan. If you read/collect old Girls Own books this makes an interesting companion to that - otherwise probably not for you!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews