Sad end of an era

John “Paddy” Hemingway, 105, the last Battle of Britain pilot, passed away Monday.

He joined 85 Squadron flying Hurricanes in December 1938 and went with the squadron to France on the outbreak of war. Based near Lille, the squadron flew sector reconnaissance flights and exercises with the French Air Force during what became known as the Phoney War. Activity remained sparse until May 10, when the Germans advanced into the Low Countries and France.

I know we tend to immediately think of Spitfires, but Hemingway was a Hawker Hurricane pilot.  Lot of folks tend to forget that the Hurricanes downed 60% of the Germans killed in the Battle of Britain, not  a shock when you consider there were 30 squadrons of Hurricanes and only 19 of Spitfires. While the Hurricanes were a bit slow both to climb and dive, they were considered easy to fly and carried eight .303 machine guns  and were rumored to almost be able to cut a Luftwaffe bomber in half with them.  Britannica.com

Hemingway was immediately in action and shot down a Henkel III over Hesdin. The following day he shared in the destruction of a Dornier bomber, but on the 12th his aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire as he pursued a German aircraft at low level. He was wounded in the leg and had to make a forced landing.

This would only be the first one – he was shot down four times in the war. He wasn’t the only one, his squadron lost all but 6 pilots and three planes in nine days.

John Allman Hemingway, always known as “Paddy”, was born in Dublin on July 17 1919, and educated at St Andrew’s College in the city. He joined the RAF on a short service commission in April 1938.

Think on that a minute…THIS WASN’T HIS COUNTRY. He was Irish.

Spring of ’41 was a busy year for Hemingway – he won both the Distinguished Flying Cross and was “mentioned in Dispatches”, the Brit’s equivalent of our Bronze Star.

In Italy he commanded No. 43 squadron (and yes, had to bail out yet a third time.)

On landing he was chased by German soldiers, but eventually he lost them and reached a farmhouse where he was cared for by the partisans and was “fed with plenty of wine”. He was disguised in peasant clothing, and a little girl from the locality took his hand and guided him past German positions to the safety of the Allied lines, where he met up with an armoured car and returned to the squadron.

Hemingway recalled some 70 years later that he was more frightened for the life of that small child than for his own safety, and he never forgot her.

Post-war, he remained in the RAF and retired in 1969 as a Group Captain, their version of a full Colonel.

“During the war,” he said, “all my closest friends were killed, and my memories and thoughts about them I have always regarded as a private affair.” He added that “being the last of the Battle of Britain veterans has made me think of those times 80 years ago.”

At a reception at the British Embassy in Dublin to celebrate his 105th birthday, he said: “I am here because I had the staggering luck to fight alongside great pilots, flying magnificent aircraft , with the best ground crew, in the best air force in the world.”The Telegraph

Hemingway was predeceased by his wife; his son and daughters survived him.

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue

I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace

Where never lark, or even eagle flew—

And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.  “High Flight” – John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

Category: We Remember, WWII