William Avery Bishop VC DSO (1894 - 1956)

Ancestors

Biography

Air Marshal William Avery "Billy" Bishop, VC, CB, DSO & Bar, MC, DFC, ED, LL.D.was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 72 victories, making him the top Canadian ace of the war. During the Second World War, Bishop helped set up and promote the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.

Bishop, born in Owen Sound, Ontario, was the second of three children born to William Bishop and Margaret Green . He had an older brother, Reginald, and a younger sister, Mary (another brother died at the age of four).^[1] His father, a lawyer, was the Registrar of Grey County. While attending Owen Sound Collegiate and Vocational Institute, Bishop earned the reputation of a fighter, defending himself and others easily against bullies.

Billy Bishop as a cadet at Royal Military College

When war broke out, he joined the Mississauga Horse Cavalry. Having studied but not graduated from the Royal Military College, Kingston, Bishop was commissioned as an officer. He was unable to join his regiment when it was sent overseas due to a bout of pneumonia. After his recovery, he enlisted with the 7th Canadian Mounted Rifles on March 30, 1915, in London, Ontario.^[2]

Bishop’s regiment arrived in England on June 23, 1915. While in France, he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, where he served as an observer before being accepted for training as a pilot in the fall of 1916. By August 1917, he had become the highest scoring ace in the RFC and the third top ace of the war.

A month later, he returned to Canada on leave and married Margaret Burden on October 13, 1917, in Toronto, Ontario.^[3]

After the war, Bishop toured American cities and gave lectures on aerial warfare. He established 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 was dissolved. In 1921, Bishop and his family moved to Britain, where he was concerned with 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 stock market crash of 1929 and they were forced to move back to Canada where he became Vice-President of the McColl-Frontenac Oil Company.

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 Spitfire pilot and served with No 401 Squadron RCAF in 1944. Bishop also presented his daughter, Jackie, with a Wireless Sparks Badge as a radio monitor operator in 1944.

He died in Palm Beach, Florida, on September 11, 1956,^[4] and was buried at Greenwood Cemetery, Owen Sound, Ontario.^[5]

The small airport located on the Toronto Islands, Toronto, Ontario, is named after Billy Bishop.^[6]

Billy Bishop Goes to War is a widely produced Canadian musical based on Billy Bishop's life.^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ "Recensement du Canada de 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV9T-H6W2 : accessed 21 October 2015), William A Bishop in entry for William A Bishop, 1911; citing Census, Grey North Sub-Districts 1-46, Ontario, Canada, Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 2,417,698.
2. ↑ Library and Archives Canada, Personnel Records of the First World War, RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 760 - 48, 45318
3. ↑ "Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKM5-WHR6 : accessed 21 October 2015), William Avery Bishop and Margaret Beattie Eaton Burden, 13 Oct 1917; citing registration , Toronto, , Ontario, Canada, Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 2,130,570.
4. ↑ "Florida Death Index, 1877-1998," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VVS2-N86 : 25 December 2014), William Avery Bishop, Sep 1956; from "Florida Death Index, 1877-1998," index, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : 2004); citing vol. 1823, certificate number 27870, Florida Department of Health, Office of Vital Records, Jacksonville.
5. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 17 August 2020), memorial page for William Avery “Billy” Bishop (8 Feb 1894–11 Sep 1956), Find A Grave: Memorial #10460, citing Greenwood Cemetery, Owen Sound, Grey County, Ontario, Canada ; Maintained by Find A Grave .
6. ↑ Wikipedia: Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport
7. ↑ Wikipedia: Billy Bishop Goes to War

See also:

• Wikipedia: Billy Bishop
• Wikidata: Item Q2035406, en:Wikipedia
• The Canadian Encyclopedia
• Billy Bishop Museum, Archives and National Historic Site