The Renegade

The Renegade is the third short story in Biggles Takes the Case. The anthology, the second one about Biggles in the Air Police, was published in 1952. This particular story is believed to have been first serialized in the Daily Mail newspaper between 19 Aug 1950 and 30 Oct 1950. In the anthology, this story is preceded by The Case of the Unknown Aircraft and followed by Biggles Baits the Trap.

In 1953, the story was adapted as the first of two stories in issue 4 of the Australian Adventures of Biggles comic series comics series.

Synopsis

A renegade Englishman is supplying arms to bandits in the Malayan jungles. Biggles is asked to blow the arms cache up.

Plot

See article under Captain Langley Vandor for a summary of the plot.

Characters

The Special Air Police/Scotland Yard

• Air Commodore Raymond
• Biggles
• Algy Lacey
• Ginger Hebblethwaite
• Bertie Lissie

Others

• Captain Langley Vandor
• Alan MacDonald
• Angus Gordon
• Wong Loo

Aircraft

• Skud amphibian
• de Havilland Gipsy Moth - personal aircraft of Vandor. Biggles examined it as a possible means of escape but it did not otherwise feature in the story.

Places

Visited

• London, Scotland Yard, Raymond's office
• Marapang - remote estate in the northeastern region of the Malayan peninsula
• Singapore - jump off point for the mission

Mentioned

• Kuala Lumpur

Other points of interest

Cars

• Two jeeps and a truck used by the communist guerillas.

Firearms and other weapons

• German Spandau rifles - large number believed to be left by the Japanese and now being used by the communist guerillas
• Various other weapons, grenades and munitions left by the Japanese and now used by the communist guerillas
• Biggles used an automatic, a hunting knife and a "pocket case" of demolition and incendiary bombs similar to that used by the SAS during WW2. He also had a Verey pistol.
• Revolver - Vandor's
• Dagger - one of Vandor's men

Food and Drinks

• Bar of chocolate - Biggles shares one with Macdonald.

Organisations

• flying club at Kuala Lumpur - Vandor was a member
• Special Air Service

Research Notes

Incongruities

• Given the date of publication, this story is probably set during the Malayan Emergency, a period when British and Commonwealth troops battled communist insurgents in Malaya, a conflict which stretched from 1948 to 1960. Biggles' involvement is rather fanciful. The conflict involved large numbers of British troops and aircraft. The Special Air Service was reformed for this conflict and could easily have undertaken this mission.

Chronology

• "The North-east monsoon is due to break shortly...."