Last surviving Battle of Britain pilot dies, at age 105

Magna-Carta

Magna-Carta

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As I was driving home at one o’clock this morning, listening to the news, it was announced that the last surviving Battle of Britain pilot had passed away.

Group Captain John "Paddy" Hemingway, the last surviving pilot of the Battle of Britain, has died at the age of 105. Born in Dublin in 1919, he joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1938 and served with distinction during World War II. As one of the renowned "The Few.," he helped defend Britain against the German Luftwaffe in 1940. Over the course of the war, he survived being shot down four times, demonstrating remarkable resilience. After the war, Hemingway continued his RAF career until his retirement in 1969.

Churchill, after leaving an RAF Operations Room during the battle, turned to Major General Hastings Ismay and said, "Don't speak to me; I have never been so moved." Minutes later, he added, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." Four days later, he echoed those words in a speech to Parliament, cementing them in history.

John Hemmingway

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The first time I became aware of the Battle of Britain was as a young child, watching the movie of the same name. After a huge Sunday lunch, I lay back on the settee, completely absorbed in the film. It has stuck with me ever since.
 

Some snippets I found on some news sites:

At just 21, he was a fighter pilot during the Battle of Britain, defending the skies against the Luftwaffe. His squadron shot down 90 enemy aircraft in just 11 days during the Battle of France and provided crucial fighter cover for the Allied retreat at Dunkirk.


Battle of Britain -- 10 July – 31 October 1940 (114 days):

During aerial combat in August 1940, he had to bail out of his Hurricane twice -- once landing in the sea off Essex and another time in marshland. Remarkably, in 2019, the wreckage of one of his Hurricanes was recovered, with the control column and gun-button still set to "fire."

His wartime service was filled with incredible escapes. On his way to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1941, his Blenheim aircraft crashed during takeoff, forcing him to escape yet again. Later, while serving with 85 Squadron at RAF Hunsdon, he had to bail out of a Havoc night fighter at just 600 feet in bad weather. His parachute failed to open properly, but he was saved when it caught on tree branches -- though not before breaking his hand on the aircraft's tail section.

He was forced to bail out a fourth time over Ravenna, Italy, when his Spitfire was hit multiple times. He landed in enemy territory but was helped back to Allied lines by Italian civilians.

Despite all this, Hemingway never sought fame for being part of "The Few." In his own words: "I don't think we ever assumed greatness of any form. We were just fighting a war which we were trained to fight."

The RAF called his passing “...the end of an era and a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by those who fought for freedom during World War II.” The RAF went on to say, "This quiet, composed, thoughtful and mischievous individual may not have wanted to be the last of 'The Few', but he embodied the spirit of all those who flew sorties over this green and pleasant land,"
 

Manatee said:
When I worked in the office of a British company I became aquainted with a man who flew a Spitfire during WW2. He was a count from Poland and had the most polished manners of anyone I ever met. That was 60+ years ago.
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I think there were two Polish counts who flew for the RAF. There were others from the Polish aristocracy as well, though I’m not sure of their exact titles.

During the Battle of Britain, 2,937 pilots flew at least one operational sortie. Among them were 9 Americans who joined the RAF, despite facing fines, imprisonment, or even the loss of their U.S. citizenship due to America's neutrality laws at the time.

I read that the first Americans traveled to Canada, where some pretended to be Canadian in order to enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force. From there, they made their way to the UK to join the RAF. Later, as more Americans followed, three Eagle Squadrons were eventually formed, with the first established in September 1940.

Battle of Britain pilots:
  • United Kingdom – 2,342
  • Poland – 145
  • New Zealand – 127
  • Canada – 112
  • Czechoslovakia – 88
  • Australia – 32
  • Belgium – 28
  • South Africa – 25
  • France – 13
  • Ireland – 10
  • United States – 9
  • Jamaica, Southern Rhodesia, and Palestine (under British Mandate) – 1 each
 
My dad was one of “the few”
He flew a Hurricane in the Battle of Britain, less famous than the Spitfires, in films etc, but the Hawker Hurricane shot down more German aircraft than all other air and ground defences combined during the Battle of Britain.
He was a pilot all through the war, volunteering right at the start, firstly in Fighter Command & later in Bomber Command when they were losing too many flight crew. He was shot down once but after a few weeks in hospital was back in the air. He also took part in the Berlin Airlift.
 
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