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BreakingNews.ie
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Portrait of last Battle of Britain pilot handed over at National Museum
A portrait of the last Battle of Britain pilot, John 'Paddy' Hemingway, has been handed over at the National Museum of Ireland. Group Captain Hemingway, originally from Dublin, was the final surviving member of 'The Few', who took to the skies in 1940 to defend the UK against Luftwaffe attacks in what became a pivotal moment of the Second World War. Advertisement He died in March this year, at the age of 105. His portrait will find a permanent home at Collins Barracks in Dublin. Group Captain John 'Paddy' Hemingway (Brian Lawless/PA) The portrait, unveiled by Mr Hemingway at the British Embassy in Dublin last year marking his 105th birthday, was painted by Welsh artist Dan Llywelyn Hall, 44. He was the last living pilot from the Battle of Britain and would have been 106 on July 17. Advertisement Mr Llywelyn Hall is known for numerous portraits, such as the Queen, Shane MacGowan, Amy Winehouse and other public figures. Mr Llywelyn Hall said: 'I am pleased for the portrait of the Last of the Few, John Hemingway, to be a legacy for the public in John's native Ireland. 'It's especially meaningful this portrait will live in Dublin as it was John's home and held in great affection. 'This portrait serves as both a record of remarkable life and a testament to the rich personality beyond the uniform.' Advertisement He added: 'I sat with John in 2024 in his nursing home and we chatted a lot. 'I was endlessly drawing in the process, taking photographs, videoing and gathering as much information as I could. 'I couldn't epitomise his whole life in one canvas so I broke it down into a series of five, depicting different facets of his character and his life. 'For this one, it seemed appropriate that the National Museum chose this to represent his life. Advertisement 'I am delighted it has ended up in a public collection. 'It can be looked at and kept under a watchful eye and be amongst other artefacts and objects and things which relate to his life.' Brenda Malone, curator of Irish Military History, said: 'We are delighted to accept this generous gift from Dan, and are particularly happy to record John Hemingway's story, through his portrait, with us. 'The National Museum collects and preserves the history of Irishmen and women's experience of military service around the world, especially in times of conflict. Advertisement 'John's story stands as a representation for the many Irish people who served in the Royal Air Force during WWII. 'His portrait and history will form a valuable part of our collections which we hold in trust for the Irish people.' In 1940, Group Capt Hemingway was recorded as destroying a German airliner and the following day he downed a German Luftwaffe plane, but his Hurricane fighter was hit by anti-aircraft fire and he had to make a forced landing. He then became one of the frontline members of 11 Group's response to daily attacks by German aircraft, which went on to be known as the Battle of Britain. In August 1940, during hectic dogfights, he was twice forced to bail out of his Hurricanes, landing once in the sea off the Essex coast and in marshland on the other occasion. In 1941 he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and in September of that year he was mentioned in despatches by senior officers.
The Independent
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Portrait of last Battle of Britain pilot handed over at National Museum
A portrait of the last Battle of Britain pilot, John 'Paddy' Hemingway, has been handed over at the National Museum of Ireland. Group Captain Hemingway, originally from Dublin, was the final surviving member of 'The Few', who took to the skies in 1940 to defend the UK against Luftwaffe attacks in what became a pivotal moment of the Second World War. He died in March this year, at the age of 105. His portrait will find a permanent home at Collins Barracks in the Irish capital. The portrait, unveiled by Mr Hemingway at the British Embassy in Dublin last year marking his 105th birthday, was painted by Welsh artist Dan Llywelyn Hall, 44. He was the last living pilot from the Battle of Britain and would have been 106 on July 17. Mr Llywelyn Hall is known for numerous portraits, such as the Queen, Shane MacGowan, Amy Winehouse and other public figures. Mr Llywelyn Hall said: 'I am pleased for the portrait of the Last of the Few, John Hemingway, to be a legacy for the public in John's native Ireland. 'It's especially meaningful this portrait will live in Dublin as it was John's home and held in great affection. 'This portrait serves as both a record of remarkable life and a testament to the rich personality beyond the uniform.' He added: 'I sat with John in 2024 in his nursing home and we chatted a lot. 'I was endlessly drawing in the process, taking photographs, videoing and gathering as much information as I could. 'I couldn't epitomise his whole life in one canvas so I broke it down into a series of five, depicting different facets of his character and his life. 'For this one, it seemed appropriate that the National Museum chose this to represent his life. 'I am delighted it has ended up in a public collection. 'It can be looked at and kept under a watchful eye and be amongst other artefacts and objects and things which relate to his life.' Brenda Malone, curator of Irish Military History, said: 'We are delighted to accept this generous gift from Dan, and are particularly happy to record John Hemingway's story, through his portrait, with us. 'The National Museum collects and preserves the history of Irishmen and women's experience of military service around the world, especially in times of conflict. 'John's story stands as a representation for the many Irish people who served in the Royal Air Force during WWII. 'His portrait and history will form a valuable part of our collections which we hold in trust for the Irish people.' In 1940, Group Capt Hemingway was recorded as destroying a German airliner and the following day he downed a German Luftwaffe plane, but his Hurricane fighter was hit by anti-aircraft fire and he had to make a forced landing. He then became one of the frontline members of 11 Group's response to daily attacks by German aircraft, which went on to be known as the Battle of Britain. In August 1940, during hectic dogfights, he was twice forced to bail out of his Hurricanes, landing once in the sea off the Essex coast and in marshland on the other occasion. In 1941 he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and in September of that year he was mentioned in despatches by senior officers.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Portrait of last Battle of Britain pilot handed over at National Museum
A portrait of the last Battle of Britain pilot, John 'Paddy' Hemingway, will be handed over at the National Museum of Ireland on Thursday. Group Captain Hemingway, originally from Dublin, was the final surviving member of 'The Few', who took to the skies in 1940 to defend the UK against Luftwaffe attacks in what became a pivotal moment of the Second World War. He died in March this year, at the age of 105. His portrait will find a permanent home at the Irish National Gallery. The portrait, unveiled by Mr Hemingway at the British Embassy in Dublin last year marking his 105th birthday, was painted by Welsh artist Dan Llywelyn Hall, 44. He was the last living pilot from the Battle of Britain and would have been 106 on July 17. Mr Llywelyn Hall is known for numerous portraits, such as the Queen, Shane MacGowan, Amy Winehouse and other public figures. Mr Llywelyn Hall said: 'I am pleased for the portrait of the Last of the Few, John Hemingway, to be a legacy for the public in John's native Ireland. 'It's especially meaningful this portrait will live in Dublin as it was John's home and held in great affection. 'This portrait serves as both a record of remarkable life and a testament to the rich personality beyond the uniform.' Brenda Malone, curator of Irish Military History, said: 'We are delighted to accept this generous gift from Dan, and are particularly happy to record John Hemingway's story, through his portrait, with us. 'The National Museum collects and preserves the history of Irishmen and women's experience of military service around the world, especially in times of conflict. 'John's story stands as a representation for the many Irish people who served in the Royal Air Force during WWII. 'His portrait and history will form a valuable part of our collections which we hold in trust for the Irish people.'
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Britain has produced a generation too fearful of the real world
Many will have felt deeply the death last week, at 105, of Group Captain John Hemingway. A Battle of Britain pilot, shot down four times, he was the Last of the Few. He was just 21 when he took to his Hurricane to fight the Luftwaffe and protect Britain from invasion. His remarkable generation are now almost all gone; and one wonders how many of today's twentysomethings can begin to understand his courage, and that of millions like him; and how when faced with danger and adversity they simply got on with it. Of course, there were important differences between Group Captain Hemingway's generation and those born in the early 21st century. People were not designated as suffering mental health problems because they were unhappy or nervous; self-obsession, the main pastime of too many of today's young, was a taboo. But, above all, there was hardly any welfare state. Several generations have been conditioned, through welfarism and poor parenting, to ask (as President Kennedy might have put it) not what they can do for their country, but what their country can do for them. This becomes a terrifying prospect should the country face some challenge to its security. Polls have recently shown that many younger people wouldn't want to fight, having also been indoctrinated by school and university teachers that British values are generally questionable and the British past is largely despicable. Also, suffocating welfarism has encouraged them to develop the lack of resilience of character and self-reliance that would make them entirely incapable of engaging in the sacrifice and heroism that so distinguished Group Captain Hemingway and his contemporaries when their age. Even if Putin decides not to put us to the test, what all this means for the future prosperity and success of our country is profoundly alarming. The most recent figures show that 987,000 people aged 16 to 24, or one in eight of that cohort, are not in work, education or training. Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman said last week that there was a 'moral and economic' case for welfare reform. Despite many disabled people working, the numbers of all ages receiving sickness or disability benefit in England and Wales have risen from 2.8 million in 2019 to 4 million now. Many have been diagnosed with mental health problems. The media have been full of young people talking about how they are too anxious to work. One imagines the young Group Captain Hemingway feeling quite profound anxiety as he climbed into his Hurricane yet again, not least because he had close comrades who never returned. But then if you are used to the state surrounding you with a financial comfort blanket that spares you from confronting the real world, you are unlikely to turn out like Group Captain Hemingway. One will, instead, be cowering indoors awaiting the next benefits cheque, despite plentiful job vacancies in many parts of Britain. Many say this is a legacy of the pandemic: the idiotic idea to confine people to their homes for months on end may well have produced a generation fearful of the pressures of the real world. But then, as the legendary Australian cricketer and former fighter pilot Keith Miller famously observed, 'you don't know what pressure is until you've had a Messerschmitt up your arse.' One suspects Group Captain Hemingway might have been too self-deprecating to have agreed. However, if cutting off their benefits remoralises substantial numbers capable of working, at last breaking the spell of the welfare state, it would be good not just for the needlessly dependent who were affected, but for the future of Britain. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The only surviving pilot of the Battle of Britain on being the very last of The Few
This interview was originally published in July 2020. John Hemingway passed away on Monday at the age of 105 On the very same evening the Second World War was declared, on September 3, 1939, John 'Paddy' Hemingway was awoken in the officer's mess and ordered to get his aircraft ready for action. As the then 20-year-old sprinted across the runway of RAF Debden in Essex towards his Hurricane, he remembers coming to the sudden and startling realisation that he must learn to cope 'entirely on my own, no matter the circumstances'. It was a survival mechanism that served Hemingway well, not least during the Battle of Britain which started the following summer, on July 10, 1940, and where for almost four long months he and his fellow airmen operated as the last line of defence against the Luftwaffe and Hitler's near total domination of Europe. Recently turning 101 and still sporting the neat moustache he grew at the start of the war for a bet to lampoon the Nazi leader, Group Captain Hemingway is now once more alone – the very last of 'The Few' anointed by prime minister Winston Churchill to have flown in the Battle of Britain and who changed the course of the war. Back in May, it was announced on the morning of the 75th anniversary of VE Day that John Hemingway was now the last surviving of the nearly 3,000 airmen who flew in the Battle of Britain, following the death of 101-year-old air gunner Terry Clark. Speaking to the Telegraph in the first newspaper interview he and his family have agreed to since then, Hemingway admits it is an unwanted honour bestowed upon him and one that has drawn him closer to the ghosts of his fallen comrades. 'During the war, all my closest friends were killed and my memories and thoughts about them I have always regarded as a private affair,' he says. 'But being the last of the Battle of Britain veterans has made me think of those times 80 years ago.' In recent years John Hemingway has lived in a care home in his native Dublin. His wife, Bridget, died in 1998 and he has three children and seven grandchildren. In spite of his remarkable wartime service which saw him shot down four times (twice within a fortnight in the Battle of Britain) and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Hemingway has always preferred to keep out of the limelight and gives few interviews. So much so that in 2018 he was erroneously included in a list of deceased pilots, and only reinstated after his son spotted the error. 'I was lucky to survive the war, and good health has kept me going,' he says. Luck, when you delve into Hemingway's wartime logbook, is not even the half of it. Privately educated and raised in a wealthy Dublin neighbourhood, the young John Hemingway's family had designs on him being a surgeon. However, a fear of blood put paid to that particular dream and propelled him towards an occupation where he would, in time, still see plenty shed. In 1937, his father took him over to London for an interview with the RAF and the following year he was granted a short service commission. After completing his fighter pilot training, in December 1938, Hemingway was posted to 85 Squadron at RAF Debden, to fly Hurricanes. Following the outbreak of war, the squadron was almost immediately posted to France, tasked primarily with patrolling the Channel and protecting shipping from attacks. That winter, Hemingway recalls, they were visited by both King George VI and Neville Chamberlain, but by the following May as the German forces stormed through Europe, the fighting became fierce. On May 10, Hemingway recalls shooting down his first enemy aircraft (a Heinkel HE 111 bomber) during one of four sorties flown that day. The following day, he was shot down over Belgium. He eventually made it back to British lines by following a caravan of Belgian refugees. In total, he says, 85 Squadron returned to England with only three Hurricanes in working order, 11 pilots killed or missing and a further six wounded. The squadron reformed back in Britain under the command of Peter Townsend (who would later become the lover of Princess Margaret). When the Battle of Britain commenced on July 10, as Luftwaffe aircraft launched attacks on shipping convoys off England's south east coast, Hemingway recalls his instructions were to ignore German fighters and focus all their efforts instead on the bomber squadrons. After 80 years, the weeks and months that followed have turned largely into a blur, punctuated by snatched recollections of moments of extreme stress and sorrow. Hemingway recalls the noxious smell and intensifying heat of a burning cockpit after being shot by an enemy plane, and the sheer exhaustion of flying back to back sorties. And he remembers the empty places at the breakfast table. 'Fate was not democratic,' he says. 'New pilots with just a few hours in Hurricanes did not have the instincts of us more experienced pilots and were very vulnerable in combat. For that reason, many did not last long.' One name that stands out is a fellow 85 Squadron veteran from the Battle of France, Dickie Lee, who was killed on August 18 – the same day Hemingway was shot down over the English Channel – in a Luftwaffe all-out assault which became known as 'The Hardest Day'. Hemingway admits the memory of his friend still deeply affects him. When he recalls being behind the controls of a Hurricane – the aircraft which scored the highest number of RAF victories during the Battle of Britain – the old fighter pilot instincts come quickly to the fore. Hemingway would only carry 14 seconds worth of ammunition which he would fire in clinically precise bursts to inflict maximum damage. Such were the extreme G-forces he endured as he threw the aircraft around during dog fights that he would sometimes black out. He always flew in shirtsleeves to move more freely, and would always assiduously check the cockpit hood to ensure it could be hauled back if he needed to bail out. If it stuck, he says, you would be burned alive. 'The Hurricane could take a lot of punishment,' he says. 'You could be shot up on one sortie and your ground crew could patch up the damage and get you back in the air that same day.' Towards the end of August, the Squadron's tactics changed to flying at bomber squadrons directly head on – something which led to Hemingway being once more shot down over the Thames estuary. Knowing that enemy aircraft were targeting parachutes, he waited until he was in the clouds at 8,000ft before deploying his. The landing took days to recover from. By September, 85 Squadron had sustained such heavy losses that John Hemingway was one of just seven pilots still fully active. Peter Townsend was wounded in hospital and numerous flight commanders and their deputies had been killed. The squadron was withdrawn from operational duties and tasked instead with training new pilots, though John Hemingway would have one more brush with death. In 1945, as a squadron leader in Italy, he was shot down in a Spitfire. He was saved by a group of Italian partisans who disguised him in peasant's clothing allowing him to escape back to British lines. Following the war, Hemingway stayed in the RAF until 1969, retiring as a Group Captain. He has lived quietly and peacefully since then. Next week, when he turns 101, the care home will throw a small birthday celebration. Even reaching such a milestone, John Hemingway is keen to deflect attention away from himself. It is the same with being the last of The Few. If it shines a spotlight on the sacrifice of others, he says, that will be enough for him. • The RAF Benevolent Fund supports serving and retired RAF personnel and their families. Download its new Battle of Britain podcast at Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
