Bertie Picks the Lock is the thirteenth and last short story in the anthology Spitfire Parade which covers the exploits of Biggles and his R.A.F. 666 Squadron during the Battle of Britain. The story is a reworking of Biggles' Exciting Night, a story with a First World War setting which was published in Modern Boys Annual in 1937.
This story, together with the previous one, The Fortune of War, is not featured in the adaptation of Spitfire Parade into graphic novel form under the titles Le Bal des Spitfire and Squadron Biggles.
Synopsis[]
There is yet another special operation for Biggles, but Towser causes his hand to be injured so it is left to Bertie to fly the mission. But Bertie has to do more than his fair share when his passenger, a special agent saboteur, loses his nerve.
Plot[]
(click on expand to read)
Characters[]
- Biggles
- Air Commodore Raymond
- Algy Lacey
- Angus Mackail
- Bertie Lissie
Aircraft[]
Places[]
Visited[]
- Rawlham
- Bonner - village between Arras and Abbeville in Northern France
Mentioned[]
- Aberdeen
- Bristol
- Abbeville
- Arras
- "enemy aerodrome Number 14"
Research notes[]
References to the past[]
- Bertie was in India - either on service or on holiday
- Bertie spent three months at the aerodrome at Abbeville during the French campaign