Secret History: Charley's War - 1918

Introducing Charley's brother, Wilf, who as a gunner-observer, gave me the chance to show the courage of ordinary airmen. And Charley gets a blighty one.

Welcome to my Secret History of Comics: my new book serialised on Substack. The first section was on Marshal Law: now it’s all about Charley’s War.

If you’re joining me for the first time, you can read the intro to the Secret History here, it’s available for everyone, and so is the intro to Charley’s War.

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WILF’S WAR.

Wilf is a gunner-observer, a protagonist we would normally never hear about. In films and novels it’s invariably the officer pilot who is the air-ace and the star. That was something I was keen to alter and show the courage of ordinary airmen. Having deviated from the usual story path with Blue’s Story, I figured I could risk telling the story of Charley’s brother Wilf. It worked and was successful, not least because Joe was such a genius at drawing aerial combat.

As a boy, I had read and enjoyed Biggles of the Camel Squadron by Captain W. E. Johns. It had a savagery and a fierce emotion with ingenious plots that attracted me. Unlike later Biggles stories, which didn’t have the same heart and ingenuity, in my opinion. I’d also read many a copy of Air Ace Picture Library, standing in the newsagent’s until I was kicked out. So I was primed to tell Wilf’s story and I enjoyed the break from the trenches. I’m sure Joe did, too. These pages benefit from being shot from the original artwork, so the detail is amazing. 

Wilf is a very different character to Charley. Unlike his brother, he’s smart and determined to get on in life. He comes up against people and forces that try to drag him down and he briefly becomes ‘the Smoke Bloke’, the most menial job on the airfield.