The last pilot to take part in the Battle of Britain, John ‘Paddy’ Hemingway, has died at the age of 105, as reported by the BBC.

Hemingway, who was born in Dublin, joined the Royal Air Force as a teenager before the Second World War.

At the age of 21, as a fighter pilot, he took part in the defence of British airspace for more than three months in 1940 against a massive, Luftwaffe attack.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer paid tribute to Hemingway, stressing that his and other RAF pilots’ bravery “contributed to the end of the Second World War and secured our freedom”.

Winston Churchill referred to the Battle of England airmen in his famous speech, paying tribute to RAF pilots, including many Poles. 

“Never was so much owed by so many to so few,” said the then-British Prime Minister, expressing his gratitude for their sacrifice in the Battle of Britain.

John Hemingway also fought over France and Italy, providing air support to Allied ground forces in Europe. ‘I didn’t know I was the last, but I know I’ve been very lucky in life,’ he said during meetings with school children.

After the war, Hemingway lived in Canada but returned to Ireland in 2011. He was one of the nine surviving members of “The Few” in July 2018. After the death of William Clark in 2020, Hemingway became the last known surviving airman of the Battle of Britain.

The RAF said in a release that Hemingway “passed away peacefully”.

Source: PAP, RMF24

Photo: @RoyalAirForce

Tomasz Modrzejewski