Last Surviving Battle of Britain Pilot Dies

John 'Paddy' Hemingway, an Irishman who served in the British RAF during the famous 1940 aerial campaign, died this week at 105.

Mark Phelps

Thursday, March 20, 2025 at 04:53 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Kimberly Johnson

John 'Paddy' Hemingway (center) was the last surviving participant of the 1940 Battle of Britain.[Courtesy: British Ministry of Defense]

Key Takeaways:

Group Captain John “Paddy” Hemingway, the last known surviving pilot of the 1940 Battle of Britain, died at the age of 105 on St. Patrick's Day.
An Irishman serving in the British RAF, Hemingway was a distinguished pilot who destroyed German aircraft, provided air cover for the Dunkirk evacuation, and survived being shot down multiple times, once being hidden by an Italian girl.
His death marks "the end of an era" for the RAF, commemorating a member of "The Few" who played a crucial role in preventing a German invasion of England.

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Group Captain John “Paddy” Hemingway, DFC, AE, an Irishman who served in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) during the 1940 Battle of Britain, died Monday, St. Patrick’s Day, at the age of 105.

Hemingway was the last surviving of “The Few” participants in the epic air campaign. The summer of 1940 saw the outnumbered RAF stymie the Luftwaffe’s attempts to establish air superiority over England in advance of a German invasion that never came.