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February 8, 1894
Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada
September 11, 1956
Palm Beach, Florida

Flying ace, head recruiting officer of the Royal Canadian Air Force

Canadian Billy Bishop rose to great fame as a flying ace in World War I. With seventy-two victories, Bishop was second only to the Red Baron of Germany, whose record stood at eighty downed enemy planes. Bishop maintained his enthusiasm for flying throughout his lifetime, and as director of the air force during World War II (1939–45), he recruited thousands of airmen into the Canadian air force.

Saved from School by the War

Born William Avery Bishop on February 8, 1894, in Owen Sound, Ontario, Bishop led a reckless childhood, regularly skipping school to play pool at the local YMCA. Upon graduation his academic record was not good enough to get him into a university, so he tested for the Royal Military...