The Incomparable Billy Bishop: the Man and the Myths
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HISTORY DND Photo NAC AH-740-A DND Photo NAC William Avery Bishop, VC. THE INCOMPARABLE BILLY BISHOP: THE MAN AND THE MYTHS by Lieutenant-Colonel David Bashow Think of the audace of it. acclaimed second book, Winged Peace, much of his vision was embodied in the United Nations International Civil Aviation Maurice Baring Organization (ICAO) in 1947. However, all these achieve- ments would occur long after he won his spurs in the skies over o spoke the renowned British poet and diplomat, the Somme, the Douai Plain and Flanders in 1917 and 1918. Maurice Baring, while serving as private secretary to There, he was the product of his circumstances: a war-weary Major General Hugh Trenchard at Royal Flying Empire in need of a charismatic hero. His war record would Corps Headquarters in France, upon hearing the eventually generate mountains of controversy, but only, for the news of Billy Bishop’s daring dawn raid on a most part, well after his death in 1956. SGerman airfield on 2 June 1917. Indeed, William Avery Bishop, Canada’s first aerial Victoria Cross winner, was auda- Billy Bishop was born in Owen Sound, Ontario, in 1894 of cious. He was also an imperfect human being and a study in upper middle class parents. A “disinterested student with poor contradictions, frequently at odds with the perceptions of an grades” who preferred solitary sports to team efforts, he was adoring public. While often a proud, ambitious risk-taker and, unable to meet the entrance requirements for the University of occasionally, a self-absorbed embellisher of the truth, he was Toronto, and followed his older brother Worth to the Royal also a skilled, courageous and resourceful warrior who served Military College at Kingston in 1911. However, unlike his sib- his nation with great distinction in two world wars. During the ling, he did not excel academically. Popular legend has it that Great War, he became the British Empire’s highest scoring ace he left RMC in the autumn of 1914 with the Damocles Sword with 72 accredited aerial victories, and was a role model for of expulsion for cheating hanging over him. Actually, he had emulation by many. During the Second World War, as an air been ‘rusticated,’ or required to repeat his first year for rela- marshal and Director of Recruiting for the Royal Canadian Air tively minor academic misconduct that certainly was not Force, he was an extraordinary booster of morale and a tireless unheard of at the time, and did not qualify for expulsion. He campaigner for the nation and the war effort, again inspiring repeated the year, followed by the uninspired completion of the many citizens to service. Bishop would also make articulate second year of a three-year diploma course. In the autumn of and forceful entreaties for peace, while urging close interna- tional cooperation among nations for the post-war global Lieutenant-Colonel David Bashow teaches military history at Royal development of civil aviation. As documented in his critically Military College. Autumn 2002 ● Canadian Military Journal 55 1914, he was coming back for his final year as a cadet officer, squadron’s original eighteen pilots being shot down, along with implying that RMC had faith in him, but instead went to war seven replacements. However, the squadron scored 35 con- because everybody else was doing so and he did not want to firmed victories for the month, of which twelve were Bishop’s. miss out on the “grand adventure”.1 The truth of Bishop’s For most of them, Bloody April was an exercise in survival. RMC experience is that he was a clown, a scamp, very popu- For Bishop, it was a target-rich environment. lar, and demonstrated very little application, except perhaps for seeing how many young ladies he could chase. How did he do it? He drove himself, flying all the normal formation patrols assigned, along with asking his command- After brief service in a Canadian cavalry regiment in 1915, ing officer, Major Jack Scott, for a roving commission; per- the mud, drill and tedium drew him towards the flying servic- mission to hunt on extra occasions alone behind the German es. He then used his natural brashness, charm and family con- lines. Scott was trying to inculcate General Trenchard’s nections to get into the Royal Flying Corps. He flew one com- offensive spirit — to relentlessly take the fight to the enemy bat tour in France as an observer in reconnaissance aircraft, whenever possible and by whatever means necessary. was injured in a crash and repatriated back to England. This Therefore, he endorsed Bishop’s request and hoped the young was a fortunate turn of events for young William, since he was Canadian’s aggressiveness would inspire others. During this spared the summer 1916 carnage of the Somme Offensive. He period, weather permitting, Bishop usually flew squadron then pulled more strings to get trained as a pilot. A short air patrols each day and also conducted solo excursions behind enemy lines. His scoring ledger continued to mount, and he was awarded his first decorations. Socially, he was the squadron clown prince, keeping spirits high in the Mess after duty hours. In late April, he was promoted to captain and given command of a flight. Sometime thereafter, and unbe- knownst to Bishop at the time, Jack Scott had recommended him for the Victoria Cross for prolonged gallantry. Higher headquarters denied the award at that time, approving a Distinguished Service Order instead.2 His ‘press on’ spirit proved to be a tremendously stabilizing force and an example for others. However, he was so obsessed with scoring that he was probably not a particularly good flight commander. He did not normally take the time to bring sub- ordinates along in their combat evolutions, and on at least two occasions he abandoned his escort duties, once disastrously, to hare off after prey on his own. However, this was probably due more to lapses in judgment than anything else. Also, his propensity for bragging, his ‘lone wolf’ tactics and his blood- thirstiness rankled some of his comrades’ British public school attitudes of contrived modesty, teamwork and limited displays of emotion, and undoubtedly made him some enemies. That said, Bishop had joined the war effort to kill Germans, not to bake cookies for them. Some of his contemporaries were probably frustrated with their own inability to score, and were therefore jealous of his successes. And why was he so successful? First and foremost was his willingness to go into harm’s way. He was simply flying much more than his colleagues, which in turn presented him with more scoring opportunities. Second, he was an excellent, dynamic shooter who successfully transferred game hunting skills to aerial combat. Third, he used the element of surprise to maximum benefit, utilizing ‘hit and run’ tactics whenever Painting by Stephen P. Quick Painting by Stephen P. possible. Although more vulnerable when alone, he also had Billy Bishop’s infamous dawn raid of 2 June 1917. more tactical flexibility. Fourth, he had a higher likelihood of combat encounters behind German lines. Enemy scouts on defence tour flying large, cumbersome BE12s convinced him patrol in formation would often avoid Allied formations if the that he really wanted to be a fighter pilot. In the middle of odds and attack parameters did not suit them. Bishop would March 1917, he got his wish and was posted to 60 Squadron at also have been exposed to individual German aircraft behind Filescamp Farm near Arras, flying the skittish and already- the lines in transit, or on individual training missions or main- obsolescent Nieuport 17. After a rather shaky start adjusting to tenance air tests. Lastly, he had superb eyesight, and simply this new aircraft, he had a number of early successes and start- spotted more targets than did others. ed actually leading flights. And then along came Bloody April 1917, one of the two worst months for the Empire flying serv- Utterly exhausted from his first six weeks with 60 ices during the war. Throughout this period, the average life Squadron, Bishop took leave in England in early May. Here, span of an RFC pilot was 45 days, and 60 Squadron suffered he got a great deal of adulation and pampering. Bishop even worse — a 110 percent casualty rate, with thirteen of the enjoyed his new-found popularity, and returned to duty later 56 Canadian Military Journal ● Autumn 2002 that month bound and determined to become the Empire’s ography, Winged Warfare. There is little doubt that he was highest scoring ace. The reigning ace, Captain Albert Ball, advised to embellish the truth5 to help stimulate recruitment. In had been killed on 7 May, and Bishop, with 19 confirmed the interim, Bishop married his childhood sweetheart, Margaret claims at the time, was the de facto new leader, but far behind Burden, and then went on a series of very successful North Ball’s final tally of 44. Around the end of May, he added a few American public relations tours. more victories, and then decided to make the daring dawn raid HISTORY on a German aerodrome. In the Officer’s Mess on the night of In April 1918, he returned to England to commence his 1 June, he discussed his plan with his contemporaries and his third operational flying tour. Bishop was promoted to major commanding officer, and then solicited their accompaniment. and given command of 85 Squadron, equipped with the excel- They thought it was too dangerous, but Scott approved the lent SE 5a scout. There were over 200 voluntary applications mission, since it was in line with Trenchard’s exhortations to from pilots who wanted to join him.