Westerman, John F C
Entry updated 14 September 2026. Tagged: Author.
(1901-1991) UK soldier and author, son of Percy F Westerman, less prolific than his father but similar, an active contributor to boy's magazines (see Boys' Papers). Of moderate Children's SF interest is the John Wentley sequence, comprising John Wentley Takes Charge (1938), John Wentley Investigates (1939) and John Wentley Wins Through (1940), in which the protagonist's older brother's Inventions, usually involving Power Sources and advanced aircraft, are more than once stolen by Villains. Further tales, often featuring aircraft that demonstrate the advantages of advanced Technology, include The Looted Gold (1932), The Power Projector (1933), specifically involving the Invention of a Power Source, The Aero-Contract (1935), involving a supersonic race to Australia, The Soten Monoplane (1936) and The Invisible 'Plane (1937), which as the title indicates concerns an airplane coated with an Invisibility paint. [JC]
John Francis Cyril Westerman
born Southsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire: 22 January 1901
died Costa del Sol, Spain?: 1991
works
series
John Wentley
- John Wentley Takes Charge (London: Collins, 1938) [John Wentley: illus/W E Narraway: hb/Stanley Orton Bradshaw]
- John Wentley Investigates (London: Collins, 1939) [John Wentley: illus/W E Narraway: hb/Stanley Orton Bradshaw]
- John Wentley Wins Through (London: Collins, 1940) [John Wentley: illus/W E Narraway: hb/Stanley Orton Bradshaw]
individual titles
- The Looted Gold (London: Ward, Lock and Company, 1932) [hb/W Edward Wigfull]
- The Power Projector (London: Oxford University Press/Humphrey Milford, 1933) [illus/hb/Terence Cuneo]
- The Aero-Contract (London: Oxford University Press/Humphrey Milford, 1935) [illus/hb/A Mason Trotter]
- The Stolen Monoplane (London: Oxford University Press/Humphrey Milford, 1936) [illus/hb/Terence Cuneo]
- The Invisible 'Plane (London: Oxford University Press/Humphrey Milford, 1937) [illus/hb/Terence Cuneo]
links
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