Brereton, Captain F S
Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Author.
(1872-1957) UK soldier and physician, who served as such in World War One, and children's author on the model of G A Henty (1832-1902), most of both authors' works being historical fictions for boys; the sometimes repeated claim that these two authors were related is false. Brereton usually signed his books as by Captain Brereton, though he was eventually promoted beyond that rank. The Great Aeroplane: A Thrilling Tale of Adventure (1911) is an sf Invention fable of Transportation featuring three white chums (British, Australian, Canadian) and their exploits in a scientist's jet plane powered through remote-control broadcasts of electricity. Natives everywhere are awed and/or cowed. After the adventure ends, the plane itself is put in storage for a time when England, faced with War, will need it. Similarly, in The Great Airship: A Tale of Adventure (1914), an advanced dirigible (see Airship; Balloons), larger and more powerful than any Zeppelin, carries its young creator around the world; and is finally acquired by the War Office. [JC]
Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Sadleir Brereton
born Wallington, Surrey: 5 August 1872
died London: 11 August 1957
works
- The Great Aeroplane: A Thrilling Tale of Adventure (Glasgow, Scotland: Blackie and Son, 1911) [hb/Edward S Hodgson]
- The Great Airship: A Tale of Adventure (Glasgow, Scotland: Blackie and Son, 1914) [illus/hb/C M Padday]
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