John “Paddy” Hemingway, the last surviving pilot of the iconic Battle of Britain, passed away peacefully yesterday at the age of 105.
Paddy Hemingway, one of a number known as ‘the Few’ and revered figures in British aviation history, played a crucial role in defending the United Kingdom against Nazi oppression during the summer of 1940. His courage in the face of overwhelming odds demonstrated his sense of duty and the importance of British resilience.
Eighty-five years ago, a nineteen-year-old Royal Air Force Pilot Officer from Ireland, flew his Hurricane in the skies over France, providing fighter cover (strafing attacks, air patrols and dogfights) to the British Expeditionary Force and other allied troops as they retreated to the beaches of Dunkirk in the face of overwhelming Nazi Blitzkrieg attacks. It became known as the ‘Battle of France’.
When the invasion of France commenced in May 1940, Paddy, a pilot with No. 85 Squadron, found himself locked in a bitter contest with the Luftwaffe. In an eleven-day period the squadron accounted for a confirmed total of 90 enemy aircraft; there were many more claims that could not be substantiated. On 10 May, Paddy was recorded as destroying a He-111, the following day he downed a Do-17 but his Hurricane aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire, and he had to make a forced landing. As the Germans advanced, it was clear the airfields would be overrun and the remaining pilots, aircraft and crews returned to the UK.
No. 85 Squadron, under a new commanding officer, Peter Townsend, became one of the front-line squadrons of the 11 Group (Fighter Command) response to the daily attacks from Nazi aircraft, which came to be known as the ‘Battle of Britain’. Paddy’s logbook records, almost nonchalantly, the daily sorties he and the other pilots undertook in defence of the United Kingdom. In August 1940, during hectic dogfights, Paddy was twice forced to bail out of his Hurricane, landing in the sea off the coast of Essex and in marshland on the other occasion.
Towards the end of the October 1940, the strain of fighting and loss of comrades was beginning to take its toll on Paddy. He was particularly troubled by the loss of his dear friend ‘Dickie’ Lee DSO, DFC in August 1940, saying in later years that his biggest regret was the loss of friends.
On 1 July 1941, Paddy was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and in September that year, he was Mentioned in Dispatches. His journey to London to receive his DFC from The King began with him escaping from a wrecked Blenheim aircraft which crashed on take-off.
This wasn’t the last of his aircraft related misfortunes. In 1941, serving with No. 85 Squadron, based at RAF Hunsdon, in a Havoc night fighter, Paddy had to bail out at 600 feet due to instrument failure in bad weather, breaking his hand on the tail section. Paddy’s parachute failed to open properly, and he was saved further injury as the chute caught on the branches of a tree. In 1945, whilst serving in the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces with 324 Wing, he was forced to bail out a fourth time. While attacking enemy forces near Ravenna in April 1945, his Spitfire was hit multiple times by anti-aircraft fire. He parachuted into enemy territory and managed to contact Italian partisans, who helped him return to his squadron.
John Allman ‘Paddy’ Hemingway was the last Battle of France and Battle of Britain (last of “The Few”) pilot. He never saw his role in the Battle of Britain as anything other than doing the job he was trained to do. He didn’t see it as an epoch-making moment in the history of the RAF or the United Kingdom.
