Top Photo: Group Captain John "Paddy" Hemingway. Royal Air Force

John “Paddy” Hemingway, the last surviving pilot of the iconic Battle of Britain, passed away peacefully on March 17, 2025, at his home in Dublin, the Royal Air Force announced. He was 105 years old. 

Hemingway, along with his fellow RAF pilots who have been revered as “the Few,” played a critical role in defending the United Kingdom against Nazi Germany during the summer of 1940. 

“His courage in the face of overwhelming odds demonstrated his sense of duty and the importance of British resilience,” the RAF said in a news post announcing Hemingway’s death.

Eighty-five years ago, the Royal Air Force was locked in an existential fight with Nazi Germany’s Luftwaffe for control of the skies above the United Kingdom. At age 19, Hemingway flew his Haker Hurricane fighter in the skies over France, providing cover to the British Expeditionary Force and other Allied troopers as they retreated to the beaches of Dunkirk. 

Hemingway and his No. 85 Squadron accounted for 90 total confirmed enemy aircraft kills in 11 days during the Battle of France. On May 10, 1940, Hemingway was recorded as destroying a Heinkel He 111; the following day, he downed a Dornier Do 17, but his Hurricane was struck by antiaircraft fire, forcing Hemingway to make an emergency landing.

Group Captain John "Paddy" Hemingway in front of a Hawker Hurricane from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. Royal Air Force

After the fall of France, No. 85 Squadron became one of the front-line squadrons of the No. 11 Group (Fighter Command) during the Battle of Britain.

“Paddy’s logbook records, almost nonchalantly, the daily sorties he and the other pilots undertook in defense of the United Kingdom,” the RAF said. “In August 1940, during hectic dogfights, Paddy was twice forced to bail out of his Hurricane, landing in the sea off the coast of Essex and in marshland on the other occasion.”

In the heat of the air campaign, Prime Minister Winston Churchill praised the pilots who defended the British Isles: “Never was so much owed by so many to so few.” The statement would serve as inspiration to an empire standing alone against the Nazi onslaught. 

On July 1, 1941, Hemingway was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Hemingway would survive bailing out of his planes on two other occasions during the war: once after bad weather damaged his plane in May 1941, and another when his plane was struck by antiaircraft fire near Ravenna, Italy, in April 1945.

Hemingway retired from the RAF in 1969 as a Group Captain. 

“This was a generation who understood the importance of service and comradeship,” RAF Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton said. “A generation who believed that with hard work, clarity of purpose, and a determination to succeed, they would not lose.”

America’s Connection with the Battle of Britain

While England stood alone in Europe, it received some help from its American allies. Many US Army Air Corps fighter pilots volunteered to join the fight in the skies over Great Britain. Starting in September 1940 and flying Supermarine Spitfires and Hawker Hurricanes, American pilots were assigned to “Eagle Squadrons” Nos. 71, 121, and 133, taking on Luftwaffe bombers and fighters. The “Yanks” continued their service to the Royal Air Force until they were transferred to the US Army Air Forces’ 4th Fighter Group in September 1942. Their service stands as a testament to the United States’ special relationship with Great Britain and these nations’ resolve in the face of aggression.

American pilots of No. 71 'Eagle' Squadron rush to their Hawker Hurricanes at Kirton-in-Lindsey. March 17, 1941. Imperial War Museum.

A Fading Living Memory

Hemingway’s passing is just the latest example of how World War II is fading from living memory. This year—2025—marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, and the youngest WWII veterans are now approaching a century old.

Earlier this month, one of the last survivors of the USS Oklahoma during the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor passed away at 102 years old. And in February, one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen died at 100 years old. 

The Department of Veterans Affairs has projected that the number of living American WWII veterans has fallen below 0.5 percent of the total number of Americans who served in the conflict. 

A total of 16.4 million Americans served during the war. More than 400,000 were killed in action or died of other causes during the conflict. The latest number represents a substantial decline from the more than 119,000 veterans of the war the VA estimated were living in 2023. 

With the number of survivors declining rapidly, The National WWII Museum continues its critical work to document memories, preserve artifacts, and educate Americans of all ages about US involvement in history’s deadliest conflict. 

The Museum remains committed to its mission of preserving the stories of the war and sharing its lessons with generations that did not experience the conflict firsthand.