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  • RAF honour last surviving Battle of Britain pilot with heartwarming tribute after hero’s death aged 105

RAF honour last surviving Battle of Britain pilot with heartwarming tribute after hero’s death aged 105

Published on April 01, 2025 at 09:00 PM

RAF honour last surviving Battle of Britain pilot with heartwarming tribute after hero’s death aged 105
The Last of the Few, John ‘Paddy’ Hemingway has died, age 105

RAF chiefs have paid tribute to the last of The Few — by painting his name on a fighter plane that starred in movies.

Group Captain John “Paddy”; Hemingway died last month aged 105.

Last known Battle of Britain pilot, Group Captain John 'Paddy' Hemingway, celebrating his 105th birthday.
Group Captain John ‘Paddy' Hemingway died last month aged 105
Black and white photo of five men in military uniforms and a German Shepherd dog in front of an airplane.
Paddy, left, with fellow pilots at their base

The decorated hero was the last surviving Battle of Britain pilot.

He was shot down four times during World War Two, and flew Hurricanes during the battle for Britain’s skies in the summer of 1940.

Today the Royal Air Force will unveil one that took part with Dublin-born Paddy’s name painted on the fuselage.

The Hawker Hurricane LF363 is believed to be the last such plane to enter service during the war.

Afterwards, the plane survived the scrapyard and was used in classic movies including Angels One Five in 1952, 1956’s Reach for the Sky and the Battle of Britain in 1969.

It is now part of the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and is expected to be used in fly-pasts next month to mark the 80th anniversary of VE-Day.

An RAF spokesman said: “Paddy Hemingway’s courage in the face of overwhelming odds demonstrated his sense of duty and the importance of British resilience.”;

His son Brian, 72, said: “Dad would be so proud to be ­honoured in this way.”;

Paddy died on St Patrick’s Day in the Dublin care home where he had lived for eight years.

The dad of three maintained he survived the war as he “had the luck of the Irish”;.

In one of his final interviews, he said: “If being ‘the last’ draws attention in a good way to the Battle of Britain pilots and the rest of the RAF at that time, then I’m happy.”;

Son of Captain John 'Paddy' Hemingway recounts his Battle of Britain dogfights
Men running on an airfield toward airplanes.
The hero pilot, second from right, scrambles to take on an incoming threat
Black and white photo of Group Captain John Paddy Hemingway, a Battle of Britain pilot.
One of Paddy's downed planes was dug out of the ground and is being restored
Photo of Battle of Britain pilots relaxing and playing darts.
Paddy, second from right, relaxes between missions with fellow fighters
Man holding a machine gun in front of a plane reconstruction.
Paddy's proud son Brian at the restoration site of his dad’s jet
A Battle of Britain pilot, his family, and portraits of him at the British Embassy in Dublin.
Group Captain ‘Paddy' celebrating his 105th birthday, with son Brian and daughter Susan
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