CLOSING A CHAPTER ON THE FEW

Historian and publisher Andy Saunders pays tribute to John 'Paddy' Hemingway and reflects on the Battle of Britain's upcoming 85th anniversary

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Inevitably, the passage of time takes from us the ever-dwindling band of Second World War veterans and those for whom the conflict is within living memory. The death of Group Captain John 'Paddy' Hemingway on 17 March 2025, at the age of 105, means that, 85 years since Britain's darkest hour, none of the 2,937 airmen awarded the Battle of Britain clasp are still with us.

May 2025 sees the 80th anniversary of VE day, but without the Battle of Britain and men like Paddy there would have been no victory over Nazi Germany and no VE Day. Paddy flew with the RAF on the first day of the Second World War and was still serving when Germany surrendered, but he remained steadfastly modest about his immense contribution.

For the most part, survivors of the 'Few' became members of The Battle of Britain Fighter Association. It was their own very exclusive club. Many would be found at reunions and related events, but it was not for Paddy. Indeed, for years researchers mostly concluded that he'd passed away. There was simply no trace of him. But the truth is Paddy didn't particularly want to be found.

In recent years, as other Battle of Britain pilots passed away, one or other would be singled out as the last man standing. It became a macabre final roll call. But it was only then, somehow, that Paddy was found - living quietly in retirement in a nursing home in his native Ireland, the nation where he was born on 17 July 1919. As he approached his centenary, he embraced being celebrated and feted as the last surviving Battle of Britain pilot. Finally, although still a little reluctantly, he accepted the recognition he had long shied away from.