Billy Bishop

Major William Avery "Billy" Bishop was born in Owen Sound, Ontario on February 8, 1894. Billy played a very major role in World War I and II for the allies. Billy Bishop is a hero. He has done so much for our the Allies in return for nothing but peace in the world. He flew planes, he was a leader and a good father.

Billy had some very careful parents by the name of William and Margaret Bishop. They knew what was best for Billy. Billy was married to Worth Bishop and had 2 children: Jackie and Arthur. When Billy was in school, he wasn't like the other kids. He liked some really different things (such as swimming instead of hockey), and he had a hard time learning at school.1 Billy's dad sent him to the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario at the age of 17. His dad knew he wouldn't go to university with what he went through in school. After all of his hard work, Billy had to leave World War II due to health conditions. He died at the age of 62 on September 11, 1956 at his home in Florida.

Bishop was a fighter pilot in World War I and II. He fought for the Allies in various planes, no matter what condition the plane was in and what plane he had to use. He was a hero back in the day, and today. Billy always worked hard, whoever his leader was (or even when he was his own leader). He went into missions very risky just for the love of the Allies. He founded a family which was also successful.

Billy, like previously mentioned, worked hard for his country for the Allies to help the world in World War I and II. In April 1917, Billy had the best month he had ever had. He has earned a lot of crosses and the most airplane explosions he had ever. He had exploded 5 airplanes in 40 minutes. With this incredible scoring, he risked all of the souls he had in him. He went into enemy lines to shoot down the airplanes. Let's talk about myths. Like many people thought, Billy Bishop did NOT shoot down the Red Baron. Billy risked his life many times, such as when he was on his routine patrol and his gas tank got shot. His airplane was high enough that he had time to parachute himself in his camp. Billy devoted most of his life to flying airplanes. At the age of 15, Billy created and flew his first plane, which was made out of cardboard and some other materials. At the age of 17, he joined a military school. A few years later, he was accepted at the Toronto military camp. The first real airplane Billy flew was a Farman Series 11 "Shorthorn". When World War I started, he was moved to France with the allies. He did not like where he was situated, so he applied multiple times to be moved to the West, where the "real war" happened. Bishop moved a lot in his career of fighter pilot. He went into a lot of different places. He has won, in total, 72 victories and 16 different awards. These awards include the majestic Victoria Cross, the Military Cross and many more. He was a First World War flying ace. A flying ace is a title given to a soldier that had won more than 5 awards. Furthermore, a movie has been made to his name. The movie is called ''Billy Bishop Goes to War'' and was filmed in 2010.

In my eyes, a hero is someone that made (or tried to make) a difference in the world, or help anyone's life (homeless, financial issues, homework problems, etc). Anyone can be a hero any day, any time such as your parents, or in the case of Billy Bishop, soldiers. Soldiers fight for their country, they protect us every day and they risk their lives. Billy Bishop is a hero because: he was a fighter pilot (very risky task) in World War I and II, he did a lot of things for the world (goes on near-impossible tasks) and worked as hard as he could.

* National Post A lifetime after shooting down the Red Baron, Canada's forgotten First World War ace Roy Brown honoured for his hometown | National Post [online], November 2nd, 2012, [http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/11/02/a-lifetime-after-shooting-down-the-red-baron-canadas-forgotten-first-world-war-ace-roy-brown-honoured-in-his-hometown/] (March 5th, 2014) * Canadien Aces William Avery ''Billy Bishop''  [online] [http://www.constable.ca/caah/bbishop.htm] (March 3rd, 2014) * Global Theatre 10 Little Known Facts about Billy Bishop | Globe Theatre [online], October 15th, 2012, [http://globetheatreregina.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/10-little-known-facts-about-the-real-billy-bishop/] (March 3rd, 2014) * Aviation History William 'Billy Bishop: World War I Canadian Ace Fighter Pilot', June 12th, 2006 [online] [http://www.constable.ca/caah/bbishop.htm] (March 3rd, 2014) * Find a Grave William Avery "Billy" Bishop (1894 - 1956) - Find a memorial grave [online] [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10460] (March 3rd, 2014) * Military Education Flying Ace - Flying Ace Definition [online] [http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/glossaryofmilitaryterms/g/ace.htm] (March 5th, 2014) * IMDb Billy Bishop Goes to War (TV Movie 2010) - IMDB [online] [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1830503/] (March 5th, 2014)