The Last of the Few

John ‘Paddy’ Hemingway, the last surviving pilot of the Battle of Britain has died. He was 105.

Hemingway was  born on 17 July 1919, in Dublin. 

On 7 March 1939, he was appointed in service as a pilot officer. By early 1940, following the outbreak of the Second World War, he was in service with No. 85 Squadron RAF in France, destroying a Heinkel He 111 on 10 May. 

During the Battle of Dunkirk he flew supporting missions over the English Channel. Hemingway fought in the Battle of Britain, waged from July to October 1940. His plane was damaged on 18 August while over the Thames Estuary, and he was forced to bail out. He was again shot down over Eastchurch on 26 August; making Hemingway 85 Squadron’s first official combat victim over Britain.

On 1 July 1941, Hemingway was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. On 7 July 1941, he began serving with No. 1452 Flight RAF. On 1 January 1944, he was made a temporary squadron leader. He served as an air traffic controller during the Invasion of Normandy. From April to December 1945 he commanded No. 43 Squadron RAF. The squadron served in Italy, and Hemingway was shot down for a fourth time.

Paddy continued serving in the RAF after WWII. He retired on 12 September 1969.

Requiescat in pace