Air MarshalAir Marshal is a 3 star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries...
William Avery "Billy" Bishop VCThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...
,
CBThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the medieval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
,
DSO & BarThe Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.The DSO was instituted on 6 September 1886 by...
,
MCThe Military Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
,
DFCThe Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
,
EDThe Canadian Efficiency Decoration was a Canadian military award given to officers of the non-permanent active militia, RCAF Auxiliary and Reserve who completed twenty years of meritorious military service. Similar Efficiency Decorations were also awarded by other Commonwealth countries. A bar...
(8 February 1894 – 11 September 1956) was a
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
First World WarWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
flying aceA flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of air victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more.It is said that fighter aces are a dying...
, officially credited with 72 victories, making him the top Canadian ace, and according to some sources, the top ace of the
British EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...
.
Early life
Bishop was born in
Owen SoundOwen Sound , the county seat of Grey County, is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada...
,
OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
. He was the second of three children born to William A. and Margaret Bishop. His father, a lawyer and graduate of
Osgoode Hall Law SchoolOsgoode Hall Law School of York University is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Named after the first Chief Justice of Ontario, William Osgoode, the law school was established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889 and was the only accredited law school in Ontario...
in
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
, was the Registrar of
Grey CountyGrey County is a county and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. The county seat is in Owen Sound. The population was 83,378 in 2006. It is located in the subregion of Southern Ontario named Southwestern Ontario...
. Attending
Owen Sound CollegiateOwen Sound , the county seat of Grey County, is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada...
, Bishop earned the reputation of a fighter, defending himself and others easily against bullies. He avoided team sports, preferring solitary pursuits such as swimming, horse riding, and shooting. Bishop was less successful at his studies; he would abandon any subject he could not easily master, and was often absent from class. At 15 Bishop had his first experience with aviation; he built an airplane out of cardboard, wood crates and string, and "flew" off the roof of his three-story house. He was dug, unharmed, out of the wreckage by his sister. In 1911, at the age of 17, Billy Bishop entered the
Royal Military College of CanadaThe Royal Military College of Canada , is the military academy of the Canadian Forces, and is a degree-granting university. RMC is the only federal institution in Canada with degree granting powers. Located on Point Frederick, a 41-hectare peninsula in Kingston, Ontario, the college is a blend of...
(RMC) in
Kingston, OntarioKingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, where Lake Ontario runs into the St. Lawrence River and the Thousand Islands begin.Kingston is the county seat of Frontenac County...
, where his brother Worth had graduated from in 1903. Bishop failed his first year at RMC, having been caught cheating.
World War I service
When the
First World WarWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
broke out in 1914, Bishop left RMC and joined the Mississauga Horse cavalry regiment. He was commissioned as an officer but was ill with
pneumoniaPneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the lung. Frequently, it is described as lung parenchyma/alveolar inflammation and abnormal alveolar filling with fluid ....
when the regiment was sent overseas. After recovering, he was transferred to the 7th Canadian Mounted Rifles, a
mounted infantryMounted infantry were soldiers who rode horses instead of marching, but actually fought on foot in the modern era with muskets or rifles, but before that with spears and bows. The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry...
unit, then stationed in
London, OntarioLondon is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada along the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor with a metropolitan area population of 457,720; the city proper had a population of 352,395 in the 2006 Canadian census....
. Bishop showed a natural ability with a gun, and excelled on the firing range. His seemingly "super-human" eyesight allowed him to put bullets in a target placed so far away others saw only a dot. They left Canada for
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 6 June 1915 on board the requisitioned battleship
Caledonia. On 21 June, off the coast of Ireland, the ships convoy came under attack by
U-boatU-boat is the anglicized version of the German word , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s. Two ships were sunk and 300 Canadians died, but Bishop's ship remained unharmed, arriving in
PlymouthPlymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
Harbour on 23 June.
As an observer
Bishop quickly became frustrated with the mud of the
trenchesTrench warfare was a form of warfare in which both combatants occupied static fortified fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops were largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and were substantially sheltered from artillery. It has become a byword for stalemate in...
and the lack of action. In July 1915, after watching an RFC aircraft return from a mission, Bishop said "...it's clean up there! I'll bet you don't get any mud or horseshit on you up there. If you die, at least it would be a clean death." He transferred to the
Royal Flying CorpsThe Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery cooperation and photographic reconnaissance...
and, as there were no spots available for pilots in the flight school, he chose to be an observer. On 1 September, he reported to 21 (Training) Squadron at
NetheravonNetheravon is a village in the English county of Wiltshire.-Location:Position: Nearby towns and cities: Amesbury, Devizes, Salisbury, SwindonNearby villages: Figheldean, Fittleton, Enford, Everleigh-Netheravon airfield:...
for elementary air instruction. The first aircraft he trained in was the
Avro 504The Avro 504 was a World War I biplane aircraft made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during the War totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind that served in World War I, in any military capacity, during...
, flown by
Roger NevilleCaptain Roger Henry Gartside Neville was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories....
. Bishop was adept at taking aerial photographs, and was soon in charge of training other observers with the camera. The squadron was ordered to
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
in January 1916, it arrived at
BoisdinghemBoisdinghem is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Population:-References:* -External links:*...
airfield, near
Saint-OmerSaint-Omer , a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais. The town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area....
equipped with
R.E.7The Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.7 was a British two-seat light bomber and reconnaissance biplane designed by the Royal Aircraft Factory and built under contracts by the Coventry Ordnance Works, Austin, Napier and Siddeley-Deasy for the Royal Flying Corps....
reconnaissanceReconnaissance is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information. Militarily, its shorthand Canadian and British form is recce , its American usage form is recon...
aircraft. Bishop' first combat mission was as an aerial spotter for British artillery. At first, the aircraft would not get airborne until they had offloaded their bombload and machine guns. Bishop and pilot Neville flew over German lines near
BoisdinghemBoisdinghem is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Population:-References:* -External links:*...
and when the German howitzer was found, they relayed co-ordinates to the British, who then bombarded and destroyed the target. In the following months, Bishop flew on reconnaissance and bombing flights, but never fired his machine guns on an enemy aircraft. During one takeoff in April 1916, Bishop's aircraft experienced an engine failure, and he badly injured his knee. The injury was aggravated while on leave in London in May 1916, and Bishop was admitted to the hospital in
Bryanston SquareBryanston Square is a square in Marylebone, Westminster, London, England. Named after its owner Henry William Portman's home village of Bryanston in Dorset, it was built as part of the Portman Estate between 1810 and 1815, along with Montagu Square a little to the east and Wyndham Place to its...
,
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
. While there he met and befriended socialite
Lady St. HelierFrancis Henry Jeune, 1st Baron St Helier was an English judge.Jeune was the son of the Rt. Rev. Francis Jeune, Bishop of Peterborough and Margaret Dyne Symons....
, who was a friend to both
Winston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer...
and Secretary for Air Lord Hugh Cecil. When his father suffered a small stroke, St. Helier arranged for Bishop to recuperate in Canada, thereby missing the
Battle of the SommeOn the Western Front, French forces under General Joseph Joffre had born the brunt of the 1914 German offensive into Belgium and France, only managing to halt the wheeling advance well inside French territory...
.
Bishop returned to England in September 1916, and, with the influence of St. Helier, was accepted for training as a pilot at the
Central Flying SchoolThe Central Flying School is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. It was established at Upavon Aerodrome, near Upavon, Wiltshire in 1912, and is the longest existing flying training school. The CFS's first commandant was Captain Godfrey Paine...
at Upavon on
Salisbury PlainSalisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in central southern England covering . It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, with a little in Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known...
. His first solo flight was in a
Maurice Farman "Shorthorn"The Maurice Farman MF.11 Shorthorn is a French reconnaissance and light bomber biplane developed during World War I by the Farman Aviation Works.-Design and development:...
.
Aerial combat
In November, 1916, after receiving his wings, Bishop was attached to
No. 37 Squadron RFC-History:No. 37 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was formed at Orfordness, Suffolk, on 15 April 1916 but ceased to exist a month later. In September of that year, it was re-formed, with headquarters at Woodham Mortimer, in Essex. It responsibilities included defending London against aerial attack...
at Sutton's Farm, Essex flying the BE.2c. Bishop disliked the flying, at night over London, searching for German Airships, and he soon requested a transfer to France.
On 17 March 1917, Bishop arrived at 60 Squadron at Filescamp Farm near
ArrasArras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. The historic centre of the Artois region, its local speech is characterized as a Picard dialect...
, where he would be flying the
Nieuport 17The Nieuport 17 was a French biplane fighter aircraft of World War I, manufactured by the Nieuport company.-Design and development:The type was a slightly larger development of the earlier Nieuport 11, and had a more powerful engine, larger wings, and a more refined structure in general...
fighter. At that time, the average life expectancy of a new pilot in that sector was 11 days, and German aces were shooting down British aircraft 5 to 1. Bishop's first patrol, on 22 March, was less than successful. He had trouble controlling his run-down aircraft, was nearly shot down by anti-aircraft fire, and became separated from his group. On 24 March, after crash landing his aircraft during a practice flight in front of General
John HigginsAir Marshal Sir John Frederick Andrews Higgins KCB, KBE, DSO, AFC, RAF was a senior officer in the Royal Flying Corps and a senior commander in the Royal Air Force in the first half of the 20th century....
, Bishop was ordered to return to flight school at Upavon. But before he could leave, Major
Alan ScottGroup Captain Alan John Lance Scott CB MC AFC was an officer in the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force during World War I and the following years....
, new commander of 60 Squadron, convinced Higgins to let him stay until a replacement arrived. The next day Bishop claimed his first victory, when his was one of four Nieuports that engaged three
Albatros D.IIIThe Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service and the Austro-Hungarian Air Service during World War I. The D.III was flown by many top German aces, including Manfred von Richthofen, Ernst Udet, Erich Löwenhardt, Kurt Wolff, and Karl Emil Schäfer...
Scouts near St Leger. Bishop shot down and mortally wounded a Lieutenant Theiler, but his engine failed in the process. He landed in No Man's Land, 300 yards from the German front line. After running to the Allied trenches, Bishop spent the night on the ground in a rainstorm. There Bishop wrote a letter home, starting:"I am writing this from a dugout 300 yards from our front line, after the most exciting adventure of my life." General Higgins personally congratulated Bishop, and rescinded his order to return to flight school. On 30 March 1917 Bishop was named a flight commander. The next day he scored his second victory. Bishop, in addition to the usual patrols with his squadron comrades, soon flew many unofficial "lone-wolf" missions deep into enemy territory, with the blessing of Major Scott. As a result his total increased rapidly. On 8 April, he scored his fifth victory and became an ace. To celebrate, Bishop's mechanic painted the aircraft's nose blue, the mark of an ace. Fellow squadron member Captain
Albert BallAlbert Ball VC, DSO & Two Bars, MC was an English First World War fighter pilot and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British or Commonwealth armed forces...
, at that time the Empire's highest scoring ace, had had his spinners painted red.
Bishop's no-hold-barred style of flying always had him "at the front of the pack," leading his pilots into battle over hostile territory. Bishop soon realized that this would eventually see him shot down; after one patrol a mechanic counted 210 bullet holes in his aircraft. His new method of using the surprise attack proved successful; he claimed 12 aircraft in April alone, winning the
Military CrossThe Military Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
and a promotion to captain for his participation at the
Battle of Vimy RidgeThe Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military engagement fought as part of the Battle of Arras, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the Canadian Corps against three divisions of the German Sixth Army...
. The successes of Bishop and his blue-nosed aircraft were noticed on the German side, and they began referring to him as "Hell's Handmaiden".
Ernst UdetColonel General Ernst Udet was the second-highest scoring German flying ace of World War I. He was one of the youngest aces and was the highest scoring German ace to survive the war...
called him "the greatest English scouting ace" and one
Jasta had a bounty on his head.
On 30 April, Bishop survived an encounter with
Manfred von RichthofenManfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen was a German fighter pilot known as the "Red Baron". He was the most successful flying ace of the Imperial German Army Air Service during World War I, being officially credited with 80 confirmed air combat victories.Richthofen was a member of an...
, the Red Baron. In May, Bishop won the
Distinguished Service OrderThe Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.The DSO was instituted on 6 September 1886 by...
for shooting down two aircraft while being attacked by four others.
On 2 June 1917, Bishop flew a solo mission behind enemy lines to attack a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
-held
aerodromeAn aerodrome or airfield is a term for any location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve cargo or passengers or neither....
, where he claimed that he shot down three aircraft that were taking off to attack him and destroyed several more on the ground. For this feat, he was awarded the
Victoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...
(VC), although it has been suggested that he may have embellished his success. His VC was one of two awarded in violation of the warrant requiring witnesses (the other being the
Unknown SoldierThroughout history, many soldiers have died in wars without their remains being identified. In modern times, nations have developed the practice of having a symbolic Tomb of the Unknown Soldier that represents the war grave of those unidentified soldiers...
), and since the German records have been lost and the archived papers of his VC were lost as well, there is no way of ever knowing if there were any witnesses or not. It was, however, common practice at this time among the RFC and RNAS squadrons to submit kills claimed without requiring confirmation or verification from other witnesses.
In July 60 Squadron received new
Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 was a British biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. Although the first examples reached the Western Front before the Sopwith Camel, and it had a much better overall performance, problems with its Hispano-Suiza engine meant that there was a chronic...
s, a faster more powerful aircraft with better visibility for the pilot. In August 1917 Bishop passed the late
Albert BallAlbert Ball VC, DSO & Two Bars, MC was an English First World War fighter pilot and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British or Commonwealth armed forces...
in victories to become (temporarily) the highest scoring ace in the RFC. Soon after he was informed he had won the
Victoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...
for his June attack on the German aerodrome.
Leave to Canada
He returned home to Canada in 1917, where he was acclaimed a hero and helped boost the morale of the Canadian public, who were growing tired of the war. On 17 October 1917, at
Timothy Eaton Memorial ChurchTimothy Eaton Memorial Church, in Toronto, Canada, was erected at 230 St. Clair Avenue West in 1914 as a Methodist congregation, and named for department store founder Timothy Eaton....
in Toronto, he married his longtime fiancée Margaret Burden, a granddaughter of
Timothy EatonTimothy Eaton was a Canadian businessman who founded the Eaton's department store, one of the most important retail businesses in Canada's history.-Early life and family:...
. Her brother was the ace
Henry John BurdenHenry John Burden DSO, DFC was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 16 victories.His sister Margaret married fellow Canadian ace Billy Bishop.-Notes:...
. After the wedding he was assigned to the British War Mission in Washington DC to help the Americans build an air force. While stationed there, he wrote an
autobiographyAn autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
entitled
Winged Warfare.
Return to Europe
Upon his return to England in April 1918, Bishop was promoted to Major and given command of
No. 85 SquadronNo. 85 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force.-In World War I:No. 85 squadron was formed at Upavon on the 1 August 1917; the station was home to the Royal Flying Corps Central Flying School. Shortly afterwards the Squadron moved to Mousehold Heath near Norwich under the command of Major R A...
, the "Flying Foxes". This was a newly formed squadron and Bishop was given the freedom to choose many of the pilots. The squadron was equipped with SE5a scouts and left for Petit Synthe, France on 22 May 1918. On 27 May, after familiarizing himself with the area and the opposition, Bishop took a solo flight to the Front. He downed a German observation plane in his first combat since August 1917, and followed with two more the next day. From 30 May to 1 June Bishop downed 6 more aircraft, including German ace
Paul BillikPaul Billik Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross was a World War I fighter ace credited with 31 victories. He was killed in a flying accident while pioneering civil aviation.-His Life Before Aviation:...
, bringing his score to 59 and reclaiming his deadliest RFC/RAF ace title from
James McCuddenJames Thomas Byford McCudden VC, DSO & Bar, MC & Bar, MM was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces...
, who had claimed it while Bishop was in Canada, and was now the leading Allied ace.
The Canadian government was becoming increasingly worried about the effect on morale if Bishop were to be killed, so on 18 June, he was ordered to return to England, officially to help organize the new Canadian Flying Corps. Bishop was not pleased with the order coming so soon after his return to France. He wrote to his wife: "I've never been so furious in my life." The order specified that he was to leave France by noon on 19 June. On that morning, Bishop decided to fly one last solo patrol. In just 15 minutes of combat, he added another five victories to his total. He claimed to have downed two
Pfalz D.IIIThe Pfalz D.III was a fighter aircraft used by the Luftstreitkräfte during the First World War. The D.III was the first major original design from Pfalz Flugzeugwerke. Though generally considered inferior to contemporary Albatros and Fokker fighters, the D.III was widely used by the Jagdstaffeln...
a scouts, caused another two to collide with each other, and shot down a German reconnaissance aircraft.
On 5 August, Bishop was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and was given the post of "Officer Commanding-designate of the Canadian Air Force Section of the General Staff, Headquarters Overseas Military Forces of Canada." He was onboard a ship returning from a reporting visit to Canada when news of the
armisticeAn armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
arrived. Bishop was discharged from the
Canadian Expeditionary ForceThe Canadian Expeditionary Force was the designation of the field force created by Canada for service overseas in the First World War. Units of the C.E.F. were further divided into field formation in France, where they were largely organized into divisions and eventually a Canadian Corps within...
on 31 December and returned to Canada.
By the end of the war, he had claimed some 72 air victories, including two balloons, 52 and two shared "destroyed" with 16 "out of control".
Post-war career
After the war, Bishop established a short-lived passenger air service with fellow ace
William BarkerWilliam George Barker VC, DSO & Bar, MC & Two Bars was a Canadian First World War fighter ace and Victoria Cross recipient.-Early life:...
. In 1921, Bishop and his family moved to Britain, where he was quite successful. In 1928, he was the guest of honour at a gathering of German air aces in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
and was made an Honorary Member of the Association. However, the family's wealth was wiped out in the crash of 1929 and they had to move back to Canada.
Second World War
In 1938, Bishop was made an Honorary
Air MarshalAir Marshal is a 3 star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries...
of the
Royal Canadian Air ForceThe Royal Canadian Air Force was the air force of Canada from 1924 until 1968 when the three branches of the Canadian military were merged into the Canadian Forces...
(RCAF) and placed in charge of recruitment. He was so successful in this role that they had to turn many applicants away. He created a system for training pilots across Canada and became instrumental in setting up and promoting the Commonwealth Air Training Plan, which trained over 167,000 airmen in Canada during the
Second World WarWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1942, he appeared as himself in the film
Captains of the CloudsCaptains of the Clouds is a Warner Bros. war film in Technicolor, directed by Michael Curtiz and starring James Cagney. It was produced by William Cagney , with Hal B. Wallis as executive producer. The screenplay was written by Arthur T. Horman, Richard Macaulay and Norman Reilly Raine, based on...
, a Hollywood tribute to the RCAF.
Both of Bishop's children became aviators. He presented his son, Arthur, with his wings during the Second World War; Arthur would go on to become a
SpitfireThe Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries through the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used into the 1950s both as a front line fighter and in secondary roles...
pilot and participated in the
Battle of BritainThe Battle of Britain is the name given to the air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940. The objective of the campaign was to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force , especially Fighter Command...
. He also presented his daughter, Jackie, with a Wireless Sparks Badge as a radio operator in 1944.
By 1944, the stress of the war had taken a serious toll on Bishop's health, and he resigned his post in the RCAF to return to private enterprise in
MontrealMontreal is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie , the city takes its present name from Mont-Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island on which the...
. His son later commented that he looked 70 years old on his 50th birthday in 1944. Bishop remained active in the aviation realm however, predicting a phenomenal growth of commercial aviation in the postwar world. His efforts to bring some organization to the nascent field led to the formation of the
International Civil Aviation OrganizationThe International Civil Aviation Organization , a major agency of the United Nations, codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth...
(ICAO) in
MontrealMontreal is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie , the city takes its present name from Mont-Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island on which the...
. He wrote a second book at this time,
Winged Peace, advocating international control of global air power.
With the outbreak of the
Korean WarThe Korean War is a war that started between North Korea and South Korea on 25 June 1950 and paused with an armistice signed 27 July, 1953...
, Bishop again offered to return to his recruitment role, but he was in poor health and was politely refused by the RCAF. He died in his sleep on 11 September 1956, while wintering in
Palm Beach, FloridaThe Town of Palm Beach is an affluent incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth...
. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Owen Sound, Ontario.
Legacy
Bishop's life was depicted in the famous Canadian play,
Billy Bishop Goes to WarBilly Bishop Goes to War is a Canadian musical, written by John MacLachlan Gray and Eric Peterson. One of the most famous and widely-produced plays in Canadian theatre, it dramatizes the life of Canadian World War I fighter pilot Billy Bishop....
.
It also led indirectly to a
CBC TelevisionCBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.-Overview:CBC Television provides a complete 24-hour network schedule of news, sports, entertainment and children's programming, in most cases feeding the same programming at the same local times...
documentary called
The Kid Who Couldn't MissThe Kid Who Couldn't Miss is a 1982 docudrama directed by Paul Cowan. Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, it combines fact and fiction to question fighter pilot Billy Bishop's accomplishments during World War I, featuring excerpts from John MacLachlan Gray's play Billy Bishop Goes to...
, produced by the
National Film Board of CanadaThe National Film Board of Canada is Canada's public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes innovative, socially relevant documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions. Its name in French is Office national...
. The show, a "docudrama" combining known history for credibility with fictitious "mock interviews" with actors portraying Bishop and others, suggested that Bishop faked his famous attack on the German aerodrome. In one particularly contentious scene, his mechanic claims that the damage to his fighter was confined to a small circle in a non-critical area, implying that Bishop had landed his aircraft off-field, shot the holes in it, and then flown home with claims of combat damage. In reality, his mechanic was his biggest supporter in this issue and the scene was entirely fictitious. The mechanic insisted that Bishop had not fabricated the damage.
After years of controversy over Bishop's record, mainly due to the fact very few of his claimed victories were witnessed by anyone else or could be confirmed from surviving German records, the show led to an inquiry by the Canadian government in 1985. The Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology discredited the documentary, saying it was an unfair and inaccurate portrayal of Bishop.
A Hero to Me: The Billy Bishop Story - WW1 Canadian flying Ace, a documentary depicting the story of "Billy" Bishop from the perspective of his granddaughter, Diana, was also produced for Global Television and TVO in 2003.
There is a permanent exhibit with information on Bishop at the
Grey Roots Museum and ArchivesGrey Roots Museum and Archives began as a county museum in 1955. Since then it has taken a large role in preserving the history and promoting the heritage of Grey County....
, just south of Owen Sound, Bishop's hometown.
Since the airport in Owen Sound is officially named "Owen Sound Billy Bishop Regional Airport", the town's mayor has questioned the efforts to rename the
Toronto City Centre AirportToronto City Centre Airport, , also known as Toronto Island Airport, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada is a small airport located on the Toronto Islands. It was opened to aviation in 1939, and was initially known as the Port George VI Island Airport after the reigning monarch of the time...
after Billy Bishop, a proposal that is under discussion by the
Toronto Port AuthorityToronto Port Authority is a Canadian Port Authority responsible for all activities in the Port of Toronto, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, including the Toronto City Centre Airport...
in September 2009. Having two airports in the province with similar names was a concern.
Besides the Owen Sound Billy Bishop Regional Airport, Bishop is memorialized across Canada:
- "Billy Bishop Private" is a roadway on private land at Ottawa Airport, Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada and a municipality within the Province of Ontario. Located in the Ottawa Valley in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, the city lies on the southern banks of the Ottawa River, a major waterway forming the local boundary between the Provinces of Ontario and...
, where the "Billy Bishop Room" for visiting dignitaries also exists.
- "Billy Bishop Way" is a street near the Downsview Airport
Downsview Airport or Toronto/Downsview Airport, , is located in Toronto, Ontario and has been exclusively owned and used as a testing facility by Bombardier Aerospace since 1994....
in TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
.
- "Mount Bishop", a high mountain on the Alberta
Alberta is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south....
- British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada.The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the 15th largest metropolitan region in Canada...
border.
- "Bishop Building", the 1st Canadian Air Division and the Canadian NORAD Region Headquarters in Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, in south central Canada, near the eastern edge of the Canadian Prairies, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers...
.
- "Billy Bishop Legion Branch 176" in Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal city and major seaport located in the Lower Mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The city is bounded by English Bay, Burrard Inlet, the Fraser River, the city of Burnaby, and the University Endowment Lands. Vancouver is named after Captain George Vancouver, a...
.
- "CFB Borden Billy Bishop Centre", a hazardous materials training school.
- "Billy Bishop entrance" at Hamilton
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
's Memorial School.
- "Billy Bishop Hangar" at the Brampton
Brampton is located in Southern Ontario and is the third-largest city in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada and the seat of Peel Region. As of the 2006 census, Brampton's population stood at 433,806, making it the 11th largest city in Canada. It is also one of Canada's fastest growing...
Flying Club.
- 943 Air Marshall William Avery “Billy” Bishop VC, CB, DSO, & Bar, MC, DFC, ED (1894 - 1956) was added to the wall of honour at the Royal Military College of Canada
The Royal Military College of Canada , is the military academy of the Canadian Forces, and is a degree-granting university. RMC is the only federal institution in Canada with degree granting powers. Located on Point Frederick, a 41-hectare peninsula in Kingston, Ontario, the college is a blend of...
in Kingston, OntarioKingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, where Lake Ontario runs into the St. Lawrence River and the Thousand Islands begin.Kingston is the county seat of Frontenac County...
in 2009.
Official citations
Bishop's decorations include the
Victoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...
,
Distinguished Service OrderThe Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.The DSO was instituted on 6 September 1886 by...
& Bar,
Military CrossThe Military Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, Distinguished Flying Cross,
légion d'honneurThe Légion d'honneur or Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
and the
Croix de GuerreThe croix de guerre is a military decoration of both France and Belgium, where it is also known as the Oorlogskruis . It was first created in 1915 in both countries and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins...
with palm. He was made a Companion of the
Order of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the medieval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
in the King's Birthday Honours List of 1 June 1944.
Victoria Cross
The citation for his VC, published in the
London GazetteThe London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the UK, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
on 11 August 1917, read:
Distinguished Flying Cross
His citation for the Distinquished Flying Cross read:
Distinguished Service Order
His citation for the Distinquished Service Order read:
Distinguished Service Order Bar
His citation for the Distinquished Service Order bar read:
External links