Nov. 10, 2009, Toronto - Toronto's Island Airport (Toronto City Centre Airport, TCCA) has been renamed after Billy
Bishop, Canada's top First World War flying ace who was awarded the
Victoria Cross.
The Toronto Port Authority says the airport now will be known as
the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.
Bishop, a native of Owen Sound, Ont., was credited with 72
victories.
He received the highest British military honour, the Victoria
Cross, after a 1917 solo attack on a German base.
The renamed airport will continue to operate under its current
call signal _ CYTZ. The Port Authority says it foresees no confusion
with CYOS, the Owen Sound Billy Bishop Regional Airport.
The port authority says the change must go through channels and
could be made official Feb. 11, 2010.
"Our family is deeply touched by this honour, especially on the
day before the solemn tribute of Remembrance Day,'' Bishop's son,
Arthur Bishop, said in a release issued by the Toronto Port
Authority.
"Our father loved flying and was very attached to this airport,
which was Toronto's first. He would have been very proud to know
that Torontonians still remember his accomplishments and choose to
recognize them through attaching his name to the island airport.''
"He represents all Canadians who were willing to go over and
sacrifice for their country,'' said Mary Smith, the manager of Owen
Sound Museums, including the one located in Bishop's former home.
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