Editing H. C. McNeile (section)

===Death and legacy===
In 1937 McNeile was working with Fairlie on the play ''Bulldog Drummond Hits Out''{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=26}}{{efn|Jonathon Green names the play as ''Bulldog Drummond Again'', although this is not supported by any other sources.{{sfn|Green|2004}}}} when he was diagnosed with terminal throat cancer. He came to an agreement with Fairlie for the play to continue after his death and for Fairlie to continue writing the Drummond stories.{{sfn|Bourn|1990|p=30}}{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|pp=26–27}} McNeile died on 14 August 1937<ref name="Times: Obit" /> at his home in [[West Chiltington]], West Sussex.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=113}} Although most sources identify throat cancer as the cause of death, Treadwell also suggests that it may have been lung cancer.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=27}} It was "traceable to his war service",{{sfn|Green|2004}} and attributed to a gas attack.{{sfn|Bourn|1990|p=25}} His funeral, with full military honours, was conducted at [[Woking]] crematorium.<ref name="Times funeral" /> At his death his estate was valued at over £26,000.<ref name="S Times: Obit" />

''Bulldog Drummond Hits Out'' was finished by Fairlie and had a short tour of Brighton, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh, before opening in London at the [[Savoy Theatre]] on 21 December 1937.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=27}} The story was later turned into a novel by Fairlie, with the title ''Bulldog Drummond on Dartmoor''.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|pp=27–28}} Fairlie continued to write Drummond novels, seven in total. When the Second World War broke out, Fairlie put Bulldog Drummond firmly in the anti-fascist camp, fighting for Britain.{{sfn|Treadwell|2001|p=64}}{{efn|The seven Bulldog Drummond novels written by Fairlie are: ''Bulldog Drummond on Dartmoor'' (1938), ''Bulldog Drummond Attacks'' (1939), ''Captain Bulldog Drummond'' (1945), ''Bulldog Drummond Stands Fast'' (1947), ''Hands Off Bulldog Drummond'' (1949), ''Calling Bulldog Drummond'' (1951) and ''The Return of the Black Gang'' (1954).{{sfn|Neuburg|1983|p=41}}}}

Drummond, McNeile's chief literary legacy, became a model for other literary heroes created in the 1940s and '50s.{{sfn|Panek|1981|p=78}} [[W. E. Johns]] used McNeile's work as a model for his character [[Biggles]],{{sfn|Sutherland|2012|p=142}} while [[Ian Fleming]] admitted that [[James Bond (literary character)|James Bond]] was "Sapper from the waist up and [[Mickey Spillane]] below".{{sfn|Green|2004}} [[Sydney Horler]]'s popular character "Tiger" Standish was also modelled on Drummond.{{sfn|Bertens|1990|p=52}}