Quick Facts
Aquarius
Biography
Air Marshal William Avery "Billy" Bishop VC, CB, DSO & Bar, MC, DFC, ED (8 February 1894 – 11 September 1956) was a Canadian flying ace and Victoria Cross recipient of the First World War. He was officially credited with 72 victories, making him the top Canadian ace of the war. During the Second World War, Bishop was instrumental in setting up and promoting the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
Early life
Bishop was born in Owen Sound, Ontario. He was the third of four children born to William A. and Margaret Bishop. His father, a lawyer and graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, was the Registrar of Grey County. Attending Owen Sound Collegiate and Vocational Institute, 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 aircraft 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, Billy Bishop entered the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) in Kingston, Ontario, where his brother Worth had graduated in 1903. At RMC, Bishop was known as "Bish" and "Bill". Bishop failed his first year at RMC, having been caught cheating.
First World War
When the First World War broke out later in 1914, Bishop left RMC and joined the Mississauga Horse cavalry regiment. He was commissioned as an officer but was ill with pneumonia when the regiment was sent overseas. After recovering, he was transferred to the 7th Canadian Mounted Rifles, a mounted infantry unit, then stationed in London, Ontario. 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 England on 6 June 1915 on board the requisitioned cattle ship Caledonia. On 21 June, off the coast of Ireland, the ship's convoy came under attack by U-boats. Two ships were sunk and 300 Canadians died, but Bishop's ship was unharmed, arriving in Plymouth harbour on 23 June.
As an observer
Bishop quickly became frustrated with the mud of the trenches 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 horse shit on you up there. If you die, at least it would be a clean death." While in France in 1915 he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps. As there were no places available for pilots in the flight school, he chose to be an observer. On 1 September, he reported to 21 (Training) Squadron at Netheravon for elementary air instruction. The first aircraft he trained in was the Avro 504, flown by Roger Neville. Bishop was adept at taking aerial photographs, and was soon in charge of training other observers with the camera. The squadron was ordered to France in January 1916 and arrived at Boisdinghem airfield, near Saint-Omer, equipped with R.E.7 reconnaissance aircraft. Bishop' first combat mission was as an aerial spotter for British artillery. At first, the aircraft could not get airborne until they had offloaded their bombload and machine guns. Bishop and pilot Neville flew over German lines near Boisdinghem and when the German howitzer was found, they relayed coordinates 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, his aircraft engine failed, 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 Square. While there he met and befriended socialite Lady St. Helier, who was a friend to both Winston Churchill and Secretary for Air Lord Hugh Cecil. After Bishop's father suffered a small stroke, St. Helier arranged for Bishop to recuperate in Canada, thereby missing the Battle of the Somme.
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 School at Upavon on Salisbury Plain. His first solo flight was in a Maurice Farman "Shorthorn".
Aerial combat
In November 1916 after receiving his wings, Bishop was attached to No. 37 Squadron RFC 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 Arras, where he flew the Nieuport 17 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 Higgins, Bishop was ordered to return to flight school at Upavon. But before he could leave, Major Alan Scott, 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.III Scouts near St Leger. Bishop shot down and mortally wounded a Leutnant Theiller (although Shores (1991) has 12-kill ace Theiller as being killed vs 70 Squadron Sopwiths on 24 March; therefore this claim does not match with known losses) 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 of enemy aircraft shot down 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. Former 60 Squadron member Captain Albert Ball, at that time the Empire's highest scoring ace, had had a red spinner fitted.
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 could 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 Cross and a promotion to captain for his participation at the Battle of Vimy Ridge. 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 Udet called him "the greatest English scouting ace" and one Jasta had a bounty on his head.
On 30 April, Bishop survived an encounter with Jasta 11 and Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron. In May, Bishop won the Distinguished Service Order 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 German-held aerodrome, 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 Cross (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 Soldier), and since the German records have been lost and the archived papers relating to the VC were lost as well, there is no way of confirming whether there were any witnesses. It seems to have been common practice at this time to allow Bishop to claim victories without requiring confirmation or verification from other witnesses.
In July, 60 Squadron received new Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s, a faster and more powerful aircraft with better pilot visibility. In August 1917 Bishop passed the late Albert Ball in victories to become (temporarily) the highest scoring ace in the RFC and the third top ace of WW1, second only to René Fonck and third to the Red Baron. Soon after, he was informed he had won the Victoria Cross for his June attack on the German aerodrome.
Leave to Canada
Bishop returned home on leave to Canada in fall 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 Church in Toronto, he married his longtime fiancée, Margaret Eaton Burden, daughter of Mr. C. E. Burdon, a granddaughter of Timothy Eaton and sister of ace Henry John Burden. 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 his autobiography entitled Winged Warfare. They had a son and a daughter.
Return to Europe
Upon his return to England in April 1918, Bishop was promoted to Major and given command of No. 85 Squadron, 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 Billik, bringing his score to 59 and reclaiming his top scoring ace title from James McCudden, who had claimed it while Bishop was in Canada, and he 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 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: "This is ever so annoying." 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.IIIa 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 on board a ship returning from a reporting visit to Canada when news of the armistice arrived. Bishop was discharged from the Canadian Expeditionary Force 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". A number of reputable historians, including Hugh Halliday and Brereton Greenhous (both of whom have had the status of official historians for the Royal Canadian Air Force) have suggested the actual total was far lower. Brereton Greenhous felt the actual total of enemy aircraft destroyed was only 27.
Post-war career
After the war, Bishop toured the principal cities in the United States and lectured on aerial warfare. He established an importing firm, Interallied Aircraft Corporation, and a short-lived passenger air service with fellow ace William Barker, but after legal and financial problems, and a serious crash, the partnership and company were dissolved. In 1921, Bishop and his family moved to Britain, where he had various business interests connected with flying. In 1928, he was the guest of honour at a gathering of German air aces in Berlin and was made an Honorary Member of the Association. ln 1929 he became Chairman of British Air Lines. However, the family's wealth was wiped out in the crash of 1929 and they had to move back to Canada, where he became Vice-President of the McColl-Frontenac Oil Company.
Second World War
In January, 1936, Bishop was appointed the first Canadian air vice-marshal. Shortly after the outbreak of war in 1939, he was promoted to the rank of Air Marshal of the Royal Canadian Air Force. He served during the war as Director of the Royal Canadian Air Force and was placed in charge of recruitment.
He was so successful in this role that many applicants had to be turned away. He created a system for training pilots across Canada and became instrumental in setting up and promoting the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, which trained over 167,000 airmen in Canada during the Second World War. In 1942, he appeared as himself in the film Captains of the Clouds, a Hollywood tribute to the RCAF.
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 Montreal, before retiring in 1952. His son later commented that he looked 70 years old on his 50th birthday in 1944. However, Bishop remained active in the aviation world, predicting the phenomenal growth of commercial aviation postwar. His efforts to bring some organization to the nascent field led to the formation of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal. He wrote a second book at this time, Winged Peace, advocating international control of global air power.
With the outbreak of the Korean War, 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, at the age of 62, while wintering in Palm Beach, Florida. His funeral service was held with full Air Force Honours in Toronto, Ontario. The body was cremated and the ashes interred in the family plot in Greenwood Cemetery, Owen Sound, Ontario. A memorial service for Air Marshal Bishop was held in St Paul's Church, Bristol, England on 19 September 1956.
Family
Both of Bishop's children became aviators:
- William Arthur Christian Avery Bishop (1923 London, England – 2013 Toronto) was presented with his wings by his father during the Second World War; Arthur would go on to become a Spitfire pilot and served with No 401 Squadron RCAF in 1944. After the war he became a journalist, advertising executive, entrepreneur and author. He married Priscilla (Cilla) Jean Aylen and had two children (Diana and William)
- Margaret Marise (Jackie) Willis-O’Connor (1926 London – 2013 Ottawa) was a wireless radio operator during World War II, whom he presented with a Wireless Sparks Badge in 1944.
- "Arthur Christian William Avery "Bish" Bishop." Archived September 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. acesofww2.com. Retrieved: 14 October 2011.
Honours and tributes
Official citations
Bishop's decorations include the Victoria Cross, Distinguished Service Order & Bar, Military Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, légion d'honneur and the Croix de Guerre with palm. He was made a Companion of the Order 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 Gazette on 11 August 1917, read:
For most conspicuous bravery, determination, and skill. Captain Bishop, who had been sent out to work independently, flew first of all to an enemy aerodrome; finding no machines about, he flew on to another aerodrome about three miles southeast, which was at least 12 miles the other side of the line. Seven machines, some with their engines running, were on the ground. He attacked these from about fifty feet, and a mechanic, who was starting one of the engines, was seen to fall. One of the machines got off the ground, but at a height of 60 feet, Captain Bishop fired 15 rounds into it at very close range, and it crashed to the ground. A second machine got off the ground, into which he fired 30 rounds at 150 yards range, and it fell into a tree. Two more machines then rose from the aerodrome. One of these he engaged at a height of 1,000 feet, emptying the rest of his drum of ammunition. This machine crashed 300 yards from the aerodrome, after which Captain Bishop emptied a whole drum into the fourth hostile machine, and then flew back to his station. Four hostile scouts were about 1,250 feet above him for about a mile of his return journey, but they would not attack. His machine was very badly shot about by machine gun fire from the ground.
Distinguished Flying Cross
His citation for the Distinguished Flying Cross read:
A most successful and fearless fighter in the air, whose acts of outstanding bravery have already been recognised by the awards of the Victoria Cross, Distinguished Service Order, Bar to the Distinguished Service Order, and Military Cross. For the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross now conferred upon him he has rendered signally valuable services in personally destroying twenty-five enemy machines in twelve days—five of which he destroyed on the last day of his service at the front. The total number of machines destroyed by this distinguished officer is seventy-two, and his value as a moral factor to the Royal Air Force cannot be over-estimated.
Distinguished Service Order
His citation for the Distinguished Service Order read:
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. While in a single-seater he attacked three hostile machines, two of which he brought down, although in the meantime he was himself attacked by four other hostile machines. His courage and determination have set a fine example to others.
Distinguished Service Order Bar
His citation for the Distinguished Service Order bar read:
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when engaging hostile aircraft. His consistent dash and great fearlessness have set a magnificent example to the pilots of his squadron. He has destroyed no less than 45 hostile machines within the past 5 months, frequently attacking enemy formations single-handed, and on all occasions displaying a fighting spirit and determination to get to close quarter with his opponents which have earned the admiration of all in contact with him.
Other tributes
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 Archives, just south of Owen Sound, Bishop's hometown.
On 12 August 1994, Canada Post issued "Billy Bishop, Air Ace" as part of the Great Canadians series. The stamps were designed by Pierre Fontaine, based on illustrations by Bernard Leduc. The 43¢ stamps are perforated 13.5 and were printed by Canadian Bank Note Company, Limited.
The Air Force Association of Canada approved the establishment of a trophy to commemorate the late Air Marshal W.A. Bishop, VC, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the legacy of excellence in Canadian aviation.
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 Island Airport after Billy Bishop, a proposal that was approved by the Toronto Port Authority on November 10, 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 Home and Museum in Owen Sound, Ontario
- "Billy Bishop Private" is a roadway on private land at Ottawa Airport, Ottawa, where the "Billy Bishop Room" for visiting dignitaries also exists.
- "Billy Bishop Way" is a street near the Downsview Airport in Toronto.
- "Billy Bishop Park" is a public park in Ottawa, created with the help of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 638 (Kanata),
- "Mount Bishop", a 2,850-metre-high (9,350 ft) mountain on the Alberta – British Columbia border.
- "Bishop Building", the 1st Canadian Air Division and the Canadian NORAD Region Headquarters in Winnipeg.
- "Billy Bishop Legion Branch 176" in Vancouver.
- "CFB Borden Billy Bishop Centre", a hazardous materials training school.
- "Billy Bishop entrance" at Hamilton's Memorial School.
- "Billy Bishop Hangar" at the Brampton 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 in Kingston, Ontario in 2009.
- Toronto island airport in Toronto (since 2009). Toronto's Pearson International Airport was originally named Bishop Field Toronto Airport Malton.
- Air Force Association of Canada's Air Marshal W. A. Bishop Memorial Trophy is one of the highest awards for aviation in Canada.
- Sqn 167 Air Marshall Bishop Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Cadets, Owen Sound, Ontario
- Diane A. Gagné Financial Services in Bishop's former home on 5 Blackburn Avenue in Ottawa, Ontario, was constructed in 1905 in the Queen Anne Revival style. The home is included amongst other architecturally interesting and historically significant buildings in Doors Open Ottawa, to be held 2–3 June 2012.
- "Billy Bishop Goes to War" Feature film and Canadian musical, written by John MacLachlan Gray in collaboration with the actor Eric Peterson.
- "William Avery Bishop." Forces Canada. Retrieved: 30 March 2010.
- McCaffery 1960, pp. 153–154.
- The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30228. pp. 8211–8212. 10 August 1917. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ "Distinguished Service Order Medal detail". Canadian Great War Project. Retrieved: 30 March 2010.
- "Canada Post stamp." Collections Canada. Retrieved: 23 October 2012.
- "Air Marshal W.A. Bishop, VC trophy: Memorial 35059-047 Ottawa, ON". National Inventory of Canadian Military Memorials. Veterans Affairs Canada. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
- "Not everyone happy that Toronto Island airport to be renamed after Billy Bishop." Canadian Press, 3 September 2009. Retrieved: 3 September 2009.
- "Billy Bishop Park: Memorial 35040-005 Kanata, ON". National Inventory of Canadian Military Memorials. Veterans Affairs Canada. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
- Place-names of Alberta. Ottawa: Geographic Board of Canada. 1928. p. 20.
- Ogilvie, Megan. "Island airport to be named after Billy Bishop." Toronto Star, 3 September 2009. Retrieved: 4 September 2009.
- "City sleuth." Toronto Star, 9 November 1981, p. A02.
- "Holiday May 22 to Honor King." Toronto Globe, 4 April 1939. p. 4.
- "2012 Buildings: Diane A. Gagné Financial Services." Doors Open Ottawa. Retrieved: 27 May 2012.
- Official Site
Legacy and later controversy
Bishop's life was depicted in the Canadian play, Billy Bishop Goes to War. It also led indirectly to a CBC Television documentary called The Kid Who Couldn't Miss, produced by the National Film Board of Canada. 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 holes in it, and flown home with claims of combat damage.
In reality, his mechanic was his biggest supporter, and the scene was entirely fictitious. The mechanic insisted that Bishop had not fabricated the damage. Canadian authors Dan McCaffery and David Bashow have also presented strong circumstantial evidence that Bishop was not a fake.
After years of controversy over Bishop's record, mainly because very few of his claimed victories were witnessed by anyone else or could be confirmed from the few 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. There is some dispute about whether Bishop or Mick Mannock had the highest score of any British Empire First World War fighter ace. The Canadian Encyclopedia states: "Investigation by a Senate sub-committee exposed a number of minor errors in this apparent 'documentary' and confirmed that statements had been wrongly attributed and incidents shifted in time for dramatic effect. However, the senators were unable to demonstrate that Bishop's claims were valid, and consequently recommended only that the film be labelled as docu-drama".
Some of Bishop's other claims have also been challenged. While combat reports and claims of both sides are littered with well-intentioned errors and accidental duplicate claims, there are two phases of Bishop's life in which German records can provide no supporting evidence. In his book on Victoria Cross airmen of the First World War, author Alex Revell quotes aviation historian Philip Markham's view about German records of the events of June 2, 1917 (the day of Bishop's VC award): "Not a shred of evidence to support Bishop's claims." Referring to Bishop's claims in early to mid-1918, Revell says another aviation historian, Ed Ferko, carried out extensive research on Germans records in 1987. Revell says that Ferko failed "to match a single victory claim made by Bishop against a known German loss for the day, time or place in question." However, distinguished First World War aviation historian Peter Kilduff says in his biography (Billy Bishop VC: Lone Wolf Hunter) that Bishop may have had as many as 21 matches in piecemeal German records. Kilduff, the author of 16 books, is renowned for his research in German records. Kilduff also makes a strong case for the unreliability of German records. He cites examples in which masses of data were destroyed by retreating German forces and instances of the German former air ministry having been guilty of "obfuscation" in denying losses when casualties had been incurred.