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For other people with similar names, see William Bishop.

Air Marshal William Bishop VC CB DSO & Bar MC DFC ED
Lieutenant Billy Bishop c.1918
Birth name	William Avery Bishop
Nickname(s)	"Billy" "Bish"
Born	(1894-02-08)8 February 1894 Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada
Died	11 September 1956(1956-09-11) (aged 62) West Palm Beach, Florida, United States
Allegiance	Canada United Kingdom
Service / branch	Canadian Militia Canadian Expeditionary Force British Army Royal Flying Corps Royal Canadian Air Force
Years of service	1914–1918 1936–1944
Rank	Air Marshal
Commands	No. 60 Squadron RAF No. 85 Squadron RAF
Battles / wars	First World War Western Front Battle of Arras Battle of Vimy Ridge Second World War
Awards	Victoria Cross Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order & Bar Military Cross Distinguished Flying Cross Mentioned in Despatches Canadian Efficiency Decoration Chevalier of the Legion of Honour (France) Croix de guerre (France)
Alma mater	Royal Military College of Canada

William Avery Bishop, VC, CB, DSO & Bar, MC, DFC, ED (8 February 1894 – 11 September 1956) was a Canadian flying ace of the First World War.

He was officially credited with 72 victories, making him the top Canadian and British Empire ace of the war. He was an Air Marshal and a Victoria Cross recipient.

During the Second World War, Bishop was instrumental in setting up and promoting the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.

Aerial combat

Bishop returned to England in September 1916, and was accepted for training as a pilot at the Central Flying School at Upavon on Salisbury Plain. He had 11 hours dual instruction before soloing. His first solo flight was in a prewar Maurice Farman "Shorthorn".

In November 1916 after receiving his wings, Bishop was attached to No. 37 Squadron RFC at Sutton's Farm, Essex, flying the BE.2c. He was officially appointed to flying officer duties on 8 December 1916. Bishop disliked flying at night over London, searching for German airships, and he soon requested a transfer to France.

Bishop and a Nieuport 17 fighter in Filescamp, 1917.

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. Major Alan Scott, the 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 Lieutenant Theiller, but his engine failed in the process. Bishop landed in no man's land, 300 yards (270 m) 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 with a temporary promotion to captain a few days later. On 31 March, 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-holds-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 for his participation in the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The successes of Bishop and his blue-nosed aircraft were noticed by the Germans, 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 received 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 (awarded 30 August 1917) 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.

Bishop in the cockpit of his Nieuport 17, c. August 1917. During this period, Bishop became the highest scoring flying ace in the Royal Flying Corp.

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 the war, behind only the Red Baron and René Fonck.

At the end of August 1917, Bishop was appointed as the Chief Instructor at the School of Aerial Gunnery and given the temporary rank of major.

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, Bishop married his longtime fiancée, Margaret Eaton Burden. After the wedding, he was assigned to the British War Mission in Washington, D.C. to help the Americans build an air force. While stationed there, he wrote his autobiography 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 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 S.E.5a scout planes 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 six 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 Government of Canada 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 scout planes, 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". Historians including Hugh Halliday and Brereton Greenhous (both of whom were official historians for the Royal Canadian Air Force) suggested that 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. In 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

Bishop in uniform as an Air Marshal, 1942. He was promoted to the position shortly after the outbreak of World War II.

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 in the Royal Canadian Air Force. In January 1940 he was appointed Director of Recruiting for the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was so successful in this role that many applicants had to be turned away. Bishop 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, Quebec, 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

On 17 October 1917, at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church in Toronto he married Margaret Eaton Burden, his longtime fiancée and daughter of Mr C. E. Burden (a granddaughter of Timothy Eaton and sister of ace Henry John Burden). They had a son, William, and a daughter, Margaret.

Both of the Bishop 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 Bishop presented with a Wireless Sparks Badge in 1944.

Honours and tributes

Official citations

Billy Bishop's decorations (now part of Canadian War Museum collection) include (left to right) Victoria Cross, Distinguished Service Order with Bar, Military Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, 1914–1915 Star, British War Medal 1914–1920.

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

Bishop also holds a number of non-military awards. In 1967, Bishop was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame. An award is also named in honour of Bishop. 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".

The home Bishop grew up in was later re-purposed into the Billy Bishop Home and Museum.

Bishop's life has also been the subject of a number of works in media. Billy Bishop Goes to War feature film and Canadian musical, written by John MacLachlan Gray in collaboration with the actor Eric Peterson in 1978. 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 produced for Global Television and TVO in 2003.

In addition to television and film, Bishop has also been featured on Canadian stamps. 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.

Replica of Bishop's Nieuport 17 fighter at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, one of two Canadian airports that bears his name.

Several places also have honoured Bishop by bearing his namesake. Two airports in Ontario are named after Bishop. The airport in Owen Sound is officially named "Owen Sound Billy Bishop Regional Airport." Toronto's island airport was renamed Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport in 2009. Although Owen Sound's mayor questioned the change, the proposal was approved by the Toronto Port Authority on 10 November 2009. Having two airports in the province with similar names was a concern. Toronto's Pearson International Airport was originally named Bishop Field Toronto Airport Malton.

Other forms in which Bishop is memorialized includes:

• "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.
• "Billy Bishop Hangar" at the Brampton, Ontario Flying Club.

Bishop's name is featured on the Wall of Honour, at the Royal Military College of Canada

• Bishop's former home in Ottawa, Ontario, constructed in 1905 in the Queen Anne Revival style, has been opened to the public in the annual Doors Open Ottawa showcase of buildings.

Legacy and later controversy

Bishop's life was depicted in the 1978 Canadian play Billy Bishop Goes to War. It also led indirectly to a 1983 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 also presented circumstantial evidence that Bishop did not fake the attack.

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 2 June 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 also makes a 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.

References

Bibliography

• Barker, Ralph. The Royal Flying Corps in World War I. London: Constable and Robinson, 2002. ISBN 1-84119-470-0.
• Bashow, Lieutenant-Colonel David. "The Incomparable Billy Bishop: The Man and the Myths." Canadian Military Journal, Volume 3, Issue 3, Autumn 2002, pp. 55–60. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
• Bishop, William Avery (1918). Winged Warfare. George H. Doran Company.
• Bishop, William Avery. Winged Warfare London: Crécy Publishing, 2007 (originally published in 1918). ISBN 0-947554-90-4.
• Buzzell, Nora. The Register of the Victoria Cross Third Edition. Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK: This England, 1997. ISBN 0-906324-27-0.
• Dieter, Captain Steven (2 June 2017). "Billy Bishop – Canada's first Air Force Victoria Cross recipient". Royal Canadian Air Force. Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
• Greenhous, Brereton. "Billy Bishop – Brave Flyer, Bold Liar." Canadian Military Journal Volume 3, Issue 3, Autumn 2002, pp. 61–64. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
• Greenhous, Brereton. "The Making of Billy Bishop: The First World War Exploits of Billy Bishop, VC." Toronto: Dundurn Press Ltd., 2002. ISBN 978-1-55002-390-9.
• Harvey, David. Monuments to Courage. Uckfield, UK: Naval & Military Press Ltd., 1999. ISBN 1-84342-356-1.
• McCaffrey, Dan. Billy Bishop: Canadian Hero. Toronto: James Lorimer & Company Publishers, 1988. ISBN 1-55028-095-3.
• Shores, Norman, L.R. Franks and Russell Guest. Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and the Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920. London: Grub Street, 1991. ISBN 0-948817-19-4.

Further reading

• Baker, David. William Avery "Billy" Bishop: The Man and the Aircraft He Flew. London: The Outline Press, 1990. ISBN 1-871547-07-5
• Urwin, Gregory J.W. "The Man Without Fear: The Combat story of Lieutenant Colonel William Avery Bishop." Air Classics, Vol. 15, No. 9, September 1979.

External links

• William Avery "Billy" Bishop
• Air Ace William "Billy" Bishop
• Air Marshal William Avery Bishop(biography & controversy discussion) Archived 5 April 2005 at the Wayback Machine
• Billy Bishop Heritage Museum (Birthplace & Childhood Home)
• Legion Magazine Article on Billy Bishop written by his son Arthur Bishop
• Ontario Historic Plaque
• Works by William Avery Bishop at Faded Page (Canada)

Category:Royal Canadian Air Force air marshals of World War II Category:Royal Flying Corps officers Category:Canadian World War I flying aces Category:Canadian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Category:Canadian recipients of the Military Cross Category:Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame inductees Category:Canadian expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:Aviation history of Canada Category:Canadian Companions of the Order of the Bath Category:Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Category:Royal Flying Corps recipients of the Victoria Cross Category:Eaton's Category:Canadian Anglicans Category:Knights of the Legion of Honour Category:People from Owen Sound Category:Canadian people of English descent Category:1894 births Category:1956 deaths Category:Royal Military College of Canada alumni Category:Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Category:Canadian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Category:Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Category:Canadian aviation record holders Category:Eaton family (Toronto) Category:Canadian Militia officers