JOHN “Paddy” Hemingway was just 21 when he wondered if his Irish luck was finally up, as he plummeted through the air while bullets from Luftwaffe guns whizzed past him.
The young pilot officer had just bailed out of his RAF Hawker after it had been hit by a fleet of German Dornier 215s over London on the afternoon of August 26, 1940.
Jumping into a sky swarming with enemy aircraft, he knew he would be killed if he used his parachute at 18,000ft, so decided to fall as far as he could before pulling the cord.
Paddy landed safely on farmland next to The Barge pub at Pitsea Marshes in Essex.
The 10,000ft descent left him with sinus pain but he still took on a dogfight over Dover - just two days later. Incredibly, it would not be the closest he would come to losing his life or the last time he fell through gunfire-torn skies.
But Paddy, who served from the first day of World War II to the very last, managed to always survive.
But he never considered himself a hero or wanted praise for his achievements, instead insisting he was just a "lucky Irishman" who was doing his job.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742347059/articles/SzCJvpuxCVvoVFwaEmsys/0138408422.jpg]
Even Paddy, though, probably would not have imagined he would end up being the very last of "The Few", Britain's hero pilots during the Battle of Britain.
But on Monday, St Patrick's Day, he died peacefully at a care home in his native Dublin, aged 105.
His son Brian said he was happy and "in fighting form" right to the end but typically modest.
"He never felt there was anything special about him," he said.
"He thought the special ones were the friends who never returned. And now he is back with his squadron. It is very sad but his is a life to be both celebrated and mourned." Millions were doing both yesterday, including Prince William, who also served with the RAF.
He said: "I was sad to hear about the passing of John 'Paddy' Hemingway this morning, the last of 'The Few'. We owe so much to Paddy and his generation for our freedoms today"
PM Keir Starmer added: "His courage, and that of all RAF pilots, helped end World War II and secure our freedom."
Born in July 1919, Paddy joined the RAF and became a pilot officer aged 19 on March 7, 1939, just before World War II. His 85 Squadron was scrambled on the first night of the war and despatched to France a week later. He had his first kill when he destroyed a German Heinkel He 111 airliner.
But a day later his plane was hit near Maastricht in the Netherlands, and Paddy crash-landed in a field before walking for three days back to base.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742347059/articles/SzCJvpuxCVvoVFwaEmsys/2343573481.jpg]
But by the end of the month, he was back in the air providing cover for the British retreat from Dunkirk, where 50,000 British troops were captured or killed.
But his own band of brothers was decimated. By the time France fell, his squadron had just three serviceable Hurricanes left, while 13 of the original pilots were dead, wounded or captured.
Months later, Paddy faced his greatest test yet, as 85 Squadron, now back at RAF Debden near Saffron Walden, Essex, and under a new commander Peter Townend, had to defend wave after wave of deadly Luftwaffe attacks during the Battle of Britain.
That fight in the skies about southern England between July and October 1940 was a crucial turning point in the war, forcing Hitler to abandon his plans for invading the British Isles. But for the brave young aircrew the cost was greater than ever, with 544 British pilots killed, while the average life expectancy of a Spitfire pilot tragically went down to just four weeks.
It was a fate that nearly befell Paddy on numerous occasions during that three-and-a-half month battle. On August 1 - "the hardest day" when around 100 German and 136 British aircraft are believed to have been destroyed or damaged - John's plane was hit while flying off the Essex coast and began to spin. He later remembered: "Everything in the cockpit was covered in oil, but the hood opened easily, and I could then see enough to regain control, at about 9000ft. I set course for England, but my engine stopped.
"I had...
The young pilot officer had just bailed out of his RAF Hawker after it had been hit by a fleet of German Dornier 215s over London on the afternoon of August 26, 1940.
Jumping into a sky swarming with enemy aircraft, he knew he would be killed if he used his parachute at 18,000ft, so decided to fall as far as he could before pulling the cord.
Paddy landed safely on farmland next to The Barge pub at Pitsea Marshes in Essex.
The 10,000ft descent left him with sinus pain but he still took on a dogfight over Dover - just two days later. Incredibly, it would not be the closest he would come to losing his life or the last time he fell through gunfire-torn skies.
But Paddy, who served from the first day of World War II to the very last, managed to always survive.
But he never considered himself a hero or wanted praise for his achievements, instead insisting he was just a "lucky Irishman" who was doing his job.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742347059/articles/SzCJvpuxCVvoVFwaEmsys/0138408422.jpg]
Even Paddy, though, probably would not have imagined he would end up being the very last of "The Few", Britain's hero pilots during the Battle of Britain.
But on Monday, St Patrick's Day, he died peacefully at a care home in his native Dublin, aged 105.
His son Brian said he was happy and "in fighting form" right to the end but typically modest.
"He never felt there was anything special about him," he said.
"He thought the special ones were the friends who never returned. And now he is back with his squadron. It is very sad but his is a life to be both celebrated and mourned." Millions were doing both yesterday, including Prince William, who also served with the RAF.
He said: "I was sad to hear about the passing of John 'Paddy' Hemingway this morning, the last of 'The Few'. We owe so much to Paddy and his generation for our freedoms today"
PM Keir Starmer added: "His courage, and that of all RAF pilots, helped end World War II and secure our freedom."
Born in July 1919, Paddy joined the RAF and became a pilot officer aged 19 on March 7, 1939, just before World War II. His 85 Squadron was scrambled on the first night of the war and despatched to France a week later. He had his first kill when he destroyed a German Heinkel He 111 airliner.
But a day later his plane was hit near Maastricht in the Netherlands, and Paddy crash-landed in a field before walking for three days back to base.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742347059/articles/SzCJvpuxCVvoVFwaEmsys/2343573481.jpg]
But by the end of the month, he was back in the air providing cover for the British retreat from Dunkirk, where 50,000 British troops were captured or killed.
But his own band of brothers was decimated. By the time France fell, his squadron had just three serviceable Hurricanes left, while 13 of the original pilots were dead, wounded or captured.
Months later, Paddy faced his greatest test yet, as 85 Squadron, now back at RAF Debden near Saffron Walden, Essex, and under a new commander Peter Townend, had to defend wave after wave of deadly Luftwaffe attacks during the Battle of Britain.
That fight in the skies about southern England between July and October 1940 was a crucial turning point in the war, forcing Hitler to abandon his plans for invading the British Isles. But for the brave young aircrew the cost was greater than ever, with 544 British pilots killed, while the average life expectancy of a Spitfire pilot tragically went down to just four weeks.
It was a fate that nearly befell Paddy on numerous occasions during that three-and-a-half month battle. On August 1 - "the hardest day" when around 100 German and 136 British aircraft are believed to have been destroyed or damaged - John's plane was hit while flying off the Essex coast and began to spin. He later remembered: "Everything in the cockpit was covered in oil, but the hood opened easily, and I could then see enough to regain control, at about 9000ft. I set course for England, but my engine stopped.
"I had...
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Daily Record (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 19, 2025