Anton Lind

Another ghost writer who trod the sandy trails of the foreign legion was Anton Lind. Nothing is known about Lind – he earns himself an entry in Men Behind Boys' Fiction and The Encyclopedia of Boys' School Stories, where each entry admits defeat.

Lind's earliest known books relate to the foreign legion. One is a collaboration with Ex-Légionnaire 1384, whom we have covered previously. Legion of the Lost was advertised as "A truly astonishing account of the author's experiences in the Central Espionage Organisation of the Foreign Legion." Another is Penal Battalion, described as "an authentic record of a living death in a French Military Penal Settlement." Heat, Hell and Humour was the autobiography of Captain James H. Freebody and his adventures as a merchant captain in Central Africa.

Lind then made the switch to writing books for boys, most of them set in the school of Altonbury where the character include Dingy and Pips, the Three Angels (Sid West, Stan Arnold and Jack Garner), Andrew Locking and the inevitable fat lad, Beacon. A second series was set at Orreyford School and featured Rags – Edward Raggett – whose exploits always led to fun and trouble. Lind's books have been described as having a general atmosphere of the knockabout: "unsubtle and plebian, but the yarns are enjoyable enough in a simple way, with plenty of amusing sequences." Two of the books were reprinted in 1961 by Purnell.

As for author, it seems likely that he is the Anton Lind who, according to the 'phone book, lived in London at 7 Grove Park Lodge, Grove Park Road, W.4 in 1938-39. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to track down Electoral Roll records for the area for those dates. In 1931, George Workman lived at the Lodge adjacent to the Grove Park Hotel in Grove Park Road; in 1933 that address was the home of  Frederick and Florence Mary Shaunghnessy. Whether this is "Grove Park Lodge" is questionable, as others (including one C. J. Burnett Knight) lived at Grove Park Lodge in the same period as Lind.

PUBLICATIONS

Novels
Six Tough Fellows. London, Sampson Low & Co., 1935.
Dingy and Pips Ltd., Detectives. London, Sampson Low & Co., 1936; abridged, Paulson, Purnell & Sons, 1961.
Super Term, You Chaps!. London, Sampson Low & Co., 1936.
Win Through, Altonbury!. London, Sampson Low & Co., 1936.
Rags the Invincible. London, Sampson Low & Co., 1937.
Rags, the Airman. London, Sampson Low & Co., 1937.
Riot at Altonbury. London, Sampson Low & Co., 1937.
Secret Service at Altonbury. London, Sampson Low & Co., 1937; abridged, Paulson, Purnell & Sons, 1961.
Tony Hits Out. London, Sampson Low & Co., 1937.
Tony Beats the Band. London, Sampson Low & Co., 1938.
Dingy and Pips in Trouble. London, Sampson Low & Co., 1939.
Leave It to Rags. London, Sampson Low & Co., 1939.
Trouble for Tony. London, Sampson Low & Co., n.d.

Non-fiction
Legion of the Lost by Ex-Légionnaire 1384, in collaboration with Anton Lind. London, Sampson Low & Co., 1934.
Penal Battalion by Roy Baker, as told to Anton Lind. London, Sampson Low & Co., Oct 1934
Heat, Hell and Humour. 231/2º N. -Oº-231/2ºS. By Captain J. H. Freebody, in collaboration with Anton Lind. London, Sampson Low & Co., 1935.