He was officially credited with 72 victories, making him the top Canadian and British Empire ace of the war, and also received a Victoria Cross. William Avery Bishop commonly called Billy Bishop to distinguish him from his father was born in Owen Sound , Ontario, on 8 February , blond, blue-eyed, and weighing 11 pounds. He was the third of four children born to William Avery Bishop Sr. William Avery Bishop Sr. He was the Registrar of Grey County and was appointed to the post after backing the winning Liberal Party candidate in the national elections of Eldest brother Worth was ten years old when Billy arrived.
His other brother, Kilbourn, was born in , but died in , the year before Billy's birth. Sister Louise, to whom Billy became very close, was born in , a year after him. He spoke with a slight lisp. Add to that, his mother sent him to school in suit and tie; his schoolboy classmates scorned his formal dress and damaged his garb. Then too, he did not care for team sports like lacrosse, football, and hockey, preferring solitary sports, such as riding, swimming, or billiards at the YMCA or local pool halls.
Most especially, he became a marksman. His father gave him a. The family orchard, which had been overrun by a destructive plague of squirrels, was soon free of the beasts as the young sniper mastered the one-shot kill. Some sources insist that the young hunter learned the art of deflection shooting , the knack of leading a moving target, at this time. Defending himself against teasing, Bishop earned the reputation of a fighter on the schoolyard, defending himself and others easily against bullies.
Once, he fought seven boys, and won. And if he drew male antagonism, he had no problem attracting female company. He was slender and of average height, but undeniably handsome, with a firm jaw, full lips, and straight nose over a pencil moustache. In the classroom, it was a different tale.
Bishop was less successful at his studies; he would abandon any subject he could not easily master, and was often absent from class. In , at the age of 16, after reading a newspaper article, Bishop built a glider out of cardboard, wooden crates, bedsheets, and twine, and made an attempt to fly off the roof of his three-story house. He was dug, unharmed, out of the wreckage by his sister Louise. After she helped him hide the wreckage, she insisted he owed her a favor, and insisted he date her girlfriend Margaret Burden.
