Lieutenant William John Gillespie was a World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 flying ace

Flying ace

A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...

 credited with five aerial victories.

Gillespie was a student at Daysland, Alberta before joining the military. He was posted to 41 Squadron on 11 December 1917. He scored five victories between 25 March and 7 July 1918; all of them were of the "driven down out of control" type. On 18 August 1918, he was hospitalized with influenza and sat out the duration of the war.