'The Bird Man's Final Gamble'

Another edition of British men's magazine Wide World from my modest collection.  As is usual for this late era in the publication's history, this July 1962 edition sports a striking cover painting, in this case illustrating the story 'The Bird Man's Final Gamble'.  As the title implies, the story chronicles the various attempts of (real life) French aviator's attempts to achieve 'free flight' using various wing designs, - rather like mini hang gliders - after jumping out of aircraft at altitude.  Like a surprising number of stories in Wide World around this time, it has a pretty grim outcome.  Spoiler alert here - after some initial success, the 'bird man' eventually perishes when his final design fails in flight.  Still, it's outcome is pretty much in line with the issue's other aviation based story - a history of Japanese Kamikaze pilots in World War Two.  

Elsewhere in the issue, it's business as usual, with tales of treasure hunts, tiger hunts and man hunts.  Plus, a harrowing tale of survival at sea and a profile of the British army's Gurkhas.  As ever, there's a story that seems designed to demonstrate the superiority of 'civilised' whites over black Africans: the Rhodesia-based  'Child Brides of the Rain God', a tale of human sacrifices and occult rituals.  Even this late in the day, the British imperialist line - that British rule of its colonies was beneficial to the locals - was being adhered to, not just in Wide World, but also in other UK based popular publications.  The Empire might have been on its last legs but, just like modern day politicians, there was a desire to believe that it was leaving behind some kind of benign 'legacy'.