Last Known Surviving Battle of Britain Pilot, Paddy Hemingway, Passed Away at 105

John “Paddy” Hemingway, the last pilot who fought in the Battle of Britain during World War II, has passed away at the age of 105. The UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF) reported that Hemingway died peacefully on Monday, describing his passing as the end of an era.

Hemingway was part of “The Few,” a group of pilots who played a crucial role in the important 1940 air battle that saved Britain from severe attacks by Germany’s Luftwaffe. British wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously said of these men, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Armchair Commanders Podcast (@armchair_commanders_podcast)

Tributes and Early Life

Prince William and Prime Minister Keir Starmer were among those who honored Hemingway. Prince William shared on social media, “We owe so much to Paddy and his generation for our freedoms today. Their bravery and sacrifice will always be remembered. We shall never forget them.”

Hemingway was born in 1919 in Dublin, Ireland, back when it was part of the United Kingdom. He joined the RAF in 1938, a year before the war started in Europe. In 1940, he shot down a German plane, but his own fighter was hit, forcing him to make an emergency landing.

Bravery in Battle and Recognition

During the summer of 1940 and the Battle of Britain, Hemingway and other pilots faced daily attacks from German aircraft. In August 1940, during intense air combat, he had to bail out of his Hurricane planes twice, once landing in the sea and another time in a marsh.

Hemingway received the Distinguished Flying Cross medal for bravery. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “Eighty years ago, the courage and determination of Paddy and all our brave RAF pilots helped bring an end to the Second World War. He never considered himself a hero and often referred to himself as the ‘Lucky Irishman,’ a man simply doing his job, like so many others of his generation. Their sense of duty and service secured our freedom and we shall never forget them.”