Flight cuts. Experts ignored. Ceasefire call.  August 12th 2024

in 1994: Scott #1526a se-tenant pair: Great Canadians. Design: Pierre Fontaine. Illustrations. Bernard Leduc. Issued to mark the 100th anniversary of the births of William Avery (“Billy”) Bishop (1894-1956) and Mary Travers - “La Bolduc” (1894-1941)

Bio notes published by Canada Post at the time of the stamp's release:

"Canada's top flying ace during Word War I, Billy Bishop had entered Royal Military College (RMC) in 1911, following his brother Worth (who had achieved the highest grades in the history of the school). But Billy proved a troublesome cadet - not inclined to military discipline. So when Canada entered the war, Billy Bishop left RMC to be commissioned a cavalry officer in the 9th Mississauga Horse. Bishop arrived in England in June, 1915 with the 7th Canadian Mounted Rifles. He soon grew weary of the rains and mud and decided flying would be an attractive alternative. He went to France in January, 1916 and spent four months in the "second seat", observing. Accepted for pilot training, he took his solo flight after 2½ hours of training and received his wings in December, 1916, on the eve of "Bloody April, 1917". Royal Flying Corps casualties that month were 238 men killed or missing and 105 wounded. Among them were 45 Canadians. Bishop and other young pilots without much experience entered this fray; they either mastered their aircraft quickly or died. Life expectancy was just three weeks! Pilots flew without parachutes or oxygen masks. Bishop disdained goggles, believing he could shoot better without them. "Shooting" meant firing a fixed, magazine-fed Lewis machine gun mounted on the top wing, just over the pilot's head. To Bishop "it was a battle of skill and wits, free from animosity of any kind, a game more than a war." Often engaging several enemy planes a day while flying alone, Bishop's most famous flight was his Victoria Cross-winning raid on a German airbase near Cambrai, France. He descended through a barrage of small arms fire, shot up three aircraft, and out of ammunition, evaded enemy air patrols, and successfully returned home in a scarred aircraft. Bishop returned to battle as a major in March 1918 after extended leave at home. In June 1918, he decided to have "one last look at war", and in just 15 minutes he scored his final five victories, bringing his total to 72. Many believe this to be the highest total in the RFC.

"Quebec's first chansonnière Mary Travers [was] popularly known as "La Bolduc". Born Marie Rose Anne Travers on June 24, 1894, the future chansonnière grew up in the Gaspé. She left her native Newport at the age of 13 for Montreal to work as a domestic helper for a well-do-to family. At the age of 20, she married plumber Édouard Bolduc, and 13 children followed. She began her singing career out of necessity. Her husband was ill, times were tough and there were plenty of mouths to feed. On weekends there would be friendly neighbourhood gatherings with music, song and dancing. One attendee was Roméo Beaudry, manager of Starr Records. Mme Bolduc caught his attention with the playing of the violin, harmonica, accordian, and the "guimbarde". He hired her as a background violinist. In 1927, Conrad Gauthier asked her to sing and play the violin as a replacement at the Monument National. He also encouraged her to write her own songs. This paid off later. The song that launched her career in 1929 was "La Cuisinière", selling more than 10,000 copies. What truly distinguished La Bolduc was her "turluteries", a very specific sound made when the tongue hits the roof of the mouth. It clicks. Her songwriting was phonetic - often a humourous observation of the daily routines, habits and behaviour of the working class. She wrote about her work, money, love and life in general. Many of her texts were an accurate portrait of the difficulties of the "little people" experienced during the Great Depression. A car accident interrupted her career in 1937. Undaunted by her serious injuries, three months later she was back on stage, cast, crutches and all. Then a malignant tumor was discovered. Radium treatment was the only solution at the time. Still, not wanting to disappoint her public, she continued to perform. She returned to Montreal in the fall of 1939 and made a few appearances before entering hospital in December 1940, where she died on February 20, 1941.