W.A. Bishop

William Avery 'Billy' Bishop was born on 8 February 1894 in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada, to William and Margaret Bishop. He was the middle of three children. Billy had a tough time of it in school as he had a slight lisp and preferred swimming, horse riding and the company of young ladies to team sports and academics.

In 1911, at the age of 17, he was enrolled in the Royal Military College at Kingston, Ontario, as his parents felt he might not be admitted to the University of Toronto due to his mediocre grades. He was not an academic and found the entrance examination to be difficult, despite the aid of a tutor. Life at the military school was hard as he was expected to do well in his studies, to do well in team sports, and to follow instructions without question. His elder brother, Worth Bishop, was known to have been the highest achieving cadet ever to attend the college. He failed his first year, though was allowed to enter the second year of studies only on the basis that he stay longer at college to make up for what he missed in that first year. However, his second year was better and he received good passing grades.

Then his third year was nearly his downfall as he was caught using crib notes on the May 1914 final examination, when he inadvertently handed them in along with his completed exam paper. A final decision on his expulsion was delayed into the late summer, though the beginnings of World War I cut short his education and thusly eliminated the problem. Due to his prowess on a horse he was commissioned into the Mississauga Horse of Toronto, a cavalry detachment of the 2nd Canadian Division.

Altogether he spent only four months as an observer due to some further stays in hospital due to various accidents and illnesses, which led to his return to Canada for almost a year where he may have remained, however in September 1916 he returned to England. A series of medical examinations nearly spelled the end of all flying for him as doctors repeatedly found him unfit for duty, until an influential friend enabled him to be given a cursory examination and passed as fit for duty.

By November 1916, he was in training as a pilot. The novice pilots were basically on their own as they were not taught aerial combat manoeuvers, spin control or any form of evasive tactics. He was then posted to Home Defense Squadron 37 doing night flying as a deterrent to Zeppelins, so he then spent many hours night flying around southern England which improved his flying skills which were always considered to be lesser than greater.

Then in February 1917 he was posted to No. 60 Squadron, RFC, station in France, the hottest area of the war, where the aircraft being flown was the Nieuport 17. Across the trenches from their base was the famous 'Flying Circus' of Baron Manfred von Richtofen.

His first dogfight took place on 25 March 1917 when he shot down a German Albatros, and his squadron commander promoted him to be flight commander. Having suffered some initial losses of other pilots he quickly adopted aerial tactics along the lines of those of Albert Ball, and many of the other top air aces and these tactics were to gain the upper hand through surprise and altitude, fight with the sun at your back, never give the other pilot any opportunity, kill quickly and evade, circle and kill again. He perfected the deflection shot, which is leading aircraft in front so that bullets and the enemy meet in space and time. He also had what almost every other ace had, an excellent sense of situational awareness, in knowing where you are in relation to the enemy, the ground and allies in four dimensions, and how to exploit the situation to your advantage.

He was awarded his initial gallantry decoration, the Military Cross, on 7 April 1917. By the end of the month he was the Squadron's leading Ace with 17 aircraft downed. This was followed shortly thereafter by an award of the Distinguished Service Order. Only 'The Red Baron' bettered his score, having downed 21 British aircraft that month. The closest he came to death was while on a routine patrol, when he was flying close to the ground and had a hit in the fuel tank by German ground fire, so with the aircraft on fire, he just made it back into Allied territory when he crashed into a tree and was suspended upside down. The fire was all around him when it began to rain, extinquishing the flames in the nick of time, so he remained uninjured.

On the morning of 2 June 1917, his single-handed attack against a German aerodrome on the Arras front earned him the Victoria Cross, making him the first Canadian aviator to receive this honor.

He returned to aerial action on 27 May 1918 flying the S. E. 5, when he shot down a twin-seater near Passchendaele. Then over the next two weeks he downed 17 further aircraft bringing his total up to 70. Then, on his last day over the front, he had his second best day of fighting by downing five aircraft, although he could be credited with only three.

The First World War ended on 11 November 1918 and he then returned home. He was the recipient of the Victoria Cross, the Distinguished Service Order and Bar, the Military Cross, the Distinguished Flying Cross, Officer of the Legion of Honour of France and the Croix de Guerre of France. Early in World War II he was approached by the Canadian Government, offered the rank of Air Marshal and made their director of recruitment for the Royal Canadian Air Force, utilizing his glamour as Canada's premier ace of World War I in drawing recruits to the air force. He was made for this job as he was more than successful, being a tireless campaigner for recruiting, being so successful that after a time applicants had to be turned away to the other military branches. He travelled widely selling war bonds, making speeches, making inspections, and was on hand for many presentations to new pilots of their wings. For his dedication he was later made a Companion of the Order of the Bath and was awarded the Canadian Efficiency Decoration.

However, he was hospitalized with pneumonia when this unit was sent to England along with the Canadian Expeditionary Force, so he was then assigned to the 14th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles, formed out of London, Ontario. At about the eve of their embarking for England he proposed to his long-time lady friend, Margaret Burden, one of the granddaughters of Timothy Eaton, founder of the greatest Canadian department store, and was considered to be quite a "catch" for him. Life in their camp was unbearable in the mud mixed with manure and he became depressed at the prospects of remaining in a cavalry unit in a trench war, so he then decided to transfer to the Royal Flying Corps. He found out that if he wanted to join the RFC he could do so by applying as an Observer as a transfer would be done immediately. He took the offer to his commanding officer who recommended that he take it, which Billy did, and was transferred over. The first aircraft he flew in was the Farman Series 11 'Shorthorn', which had started the war as a training and reconnaissance aircraft, then was discovered to be seriously underpowered for any job in France so was relegated to training and Zeppelin interceptions. Upon receiving the "Flying O" badge of an Observer, his first assignment was to No. 21 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, where they received their first 'modern' aircraft, the Reconnaissance Experimental 7, made by the Royal Aircraft Factory. When loaded with a pilot, observer, machine gun and camera, it could barely maintain a speed of 70 mph as a top speed, and could reach an altitude of only about 5000 feet after 30 minutes of flying.