George William Kinman - Biggles Goes To School

Biggles Goes To School

William Earl Johns, author of The Biggles Stories joined The Hertford School in January 1905 when Kinman was headmaster. The W.E. Johns website biography states:

In January 1905, Johns went to Hertford Grammar School (now the Richard Hale School, Hertford) where the headmaster was Major Kinman. Some of his experiences here went into his book BIGGLES GOES TO SCHOOL.

In Pamela Shields' book "The Private Lives of Hertfordshire Writers" which includes William Earls Johns, Pamela writes

The headmaster, Major Kinman, was the inspiration for Colonel Horace Chase, head of Malton House School in 'Biggles Goes to School'