William Avery Bishop

Air Marshal William Avery “Billy” Bishop VC, CB, DSO & Bar, MC, DFC

William Avery “Billy” Bishop became Canada’s highest-scoring fighter ace of the First World War, officially credited with 72 aerial victories. His combat career lasted little more than a year, yet it brought him the Victoria Cross, Distinguished Service Order and Bar, Military Cross and Distinguished Flying Cross. More than twenty years later, he returned to uniform and helped build the Royal Canadian Air Force that would send thousands of Canadians into the skies of the Second World War.

Early Life

William Avery Bishop was born on February 8, 1894, in Owen Sound, Ontario.

He entered the Royal Military College of Canada at Kingston in 1911 but had not completed his studies when the First World War began.

Bishop joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force and initially served with the cavalry. Frustrated by the conditions of ground warfare and attracted by the possibilities of aviation, he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps.

He first went to war in the air as an observer before illness temporarily removed him from operations. Determined to return as a pilot, Bishop undertook flying training in Britain.

In March 1917, he joined No. 60 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, in France.

Fighter Pilot

Bishop quickly demonstrated an aggressive approach to aerial combat.

Flying the Nieuport fighter, he began accumulating victories during the spring of 1917 and frequently sought combat beyond the Allied lines.

His successes brought rapid recognition. He received the Military Cross and was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his combat record.

On June 2, 1917, Bishop undertook the action for which he would receive the Victoria Cross.

Victoria Cross

According to his official citation, Bishop flew alone across the German lines and attacked an enemy aerodrome approximately three miles southeast of Cambrai.

Finding several aircraft on the ground, he attacked as German machines began taking off to engage him.

Bishop fought the enemy aircraft at close range. His official citation records that one crashed near the aerodrome, another crashed into trees and a third came down after further combat.

Despite being under fire from the ground and facing additional enemy aircraft, Bishop escaped back across the lines.

For this action, he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Victoria Cross Citation

Victoria Cross Citation (condensed)

For most conspicuous bravery, determination and skill.

Captain Bishop flew alone to an enemy aerodrome, where he attacked hostile aircraft as they took off to engage him.

During the ensuing combat he brought down three enemy machines before returning safely despite enemy fire and further opposition.

His extraordinary courage and determination in carrying out the attack resulted in the award of the Victoria Cross.

The Bishop Controversy

Bishop’s June 2 action has been the subject of historical debate because he carried it out alone and therefore without Allied witnesses on the ground or in the air.

Some later historians have questioned elements of the raid and attempted to reconcile Bishop’s account with surviving German records. Others have argued that incomplete wartime records and the circumstances of aerial combat make definitive conclusions difficult.

The Victoria Cross was nevertheless awarded on the basis of the evidence accepted by British military authorities at the time, and the award has never been revoked.

The same distinction is useful when describing Bishop’s overall combat record. He was officially credited with 72 aerial victories, making him Canada’s highest-scoring ace of the First World War. Not every individual claim can be independently verified from surviving records more than a century later.

Return to Combat

After receiving the Victoria Cross, Bishop was temporarily removed from frontline operations and travelled to Canada and the United States, where his achievements received considerable public attention.

He returned to operational flying in 1918.

Promoted to major, Bishop was given command of No. 85 Squadron, Royal Air Force, equipped with the SE5a fighter.

His second period of frontline service produced another remarkable series of officially credited victories.

On June 19, 1918, Bishop was informed that he was being withdrawn from combat and ordered to return to England. Before leaving, he flew one final patrol.

During that last combat mission, he was officially credited with five enemy aircraft.

His wartime total stood at 72 victories.

For his continuing combat service, Bishop received a Bar to his Distinguished Service Order and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

He ended the First World War as one of the best-known Allied fighter pilots.

Between the Wars

After the war, Bishop entered civilian life and remained closely associated with aviation.

He participated in commercial aviation ventures and became one of Canada’s most recognizable wartime veterans. His reputation as a fighter pilot also made him an important public advocate for aviation and the development of Canadian air power.

In 1938, Bishop was appointed an honorary Air Marshal in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

War soon brought him back into active service.

Second World War

Following the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, Bishop returned to active duty with the substantive rank of Air Commodore and became Director of Recruiting for the Royal Canadian Air Force.

His task was fundamentally different from the one he had faced over France more than twenty years earlier.

Canada was rapidly expanding its air force and becoming a central participant in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Tens of thousands of aircrew and other personnel had to be recruited for service in Canada and overseas.

Bishop travelled extensively, spoke publicly and became one of the most recognizable faces of RCAF recruiting.

His fame as a Victoria Cross recipient and fighter ace gave him unusual influence when encouraging a new generation of Canadians to volunteer for air service.

The demands of the work eventually affected his health, and he left active duties in 1944.

Later Life

After the Second World War, Bishop returned to private life but remained closely associated with Canadian aviation and veterans’ affairs.

His place in Canadian military aviation had by then become firmly established. He had served during the formative years of military flying, fought in the First World War’s primitive single-seat fighters and then, a generation later, helped recruit personnel for an air force operating sophisticated aircraft around the world.

William Avery “Billy” Bishop died in Palm Beach, Florida, on September 11, 1956. He was 62 years old.

His remains were returned to Canada, and he was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in his hometown of Owen Sound, Ontario.

Bishop remains one of the most recognized figures in Canadian military history. The precise details of some of his combat claims continue to be examined and debated by historians, but his official record remains extraordinary: 72 credited aerial victories, the Victoria Cross, Distinguished Service Order and Bar, Military Cross and Distinguished Flying Cross.

His career also extended far beyond the cockpit. From a young Canadian cavalry officer seeking a transfer to the flying corps, to command of a fighter squadron in 1918 and senior recruiting responsibilities in the RCAF during the Second World War, Billy Bishop’s life spanned the transformation of military aviation from its fragile beginnings into a central element of modern warfare.