The Last of the Few: John Hemingway by Alistair Morrison, digital photograph, inkjet-printed onto Hahnemuhle paper

Alistair Morrison photographed Group Captain John ‘Paddy’ Hemingway DFC AE (17 July 1919 - 17 March 2025) in 2023, at age 104, honouring him as the last surviving Battle of Britain pilot.

In 1938 Paddy travelled from Dublin to join the RAF, attending flying school and embarking on a four year commission with No. 85 Squadron, flying Hawker Hurricanes. In the Battle of France he downed two enemy aircraft, and he flew supporting missions during the Battle of Dunkirk. Between July and October 1940 Paddy fought in the Battle of Britain. Flying an astonishing five sorties per day, he twice bailed out of shot-down Hurricane aircraft: on 18 August at sea near Clacton, and a week later over the Kent countryside. In 1941 he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). During the Blitz the squadron transferred from Hurricanes to the American Douglas Havoc II, a night fighter bomber, from which on 13 May 1941 Paddy was again forced to bail out, at low altitude, due to instrument failure, causing him to sustain injuries. Towards the end of the war, Paddy commanded No. 43 Squadron, based in Italy, and flew Spitfire IXs. In a matter of weeks before the war ended, he was shot down for the last time, rescued by partisans and taken back to allied lines. He continued to serve with the RAF after the war and retired in 1969 as Group Captain. Paddy passed away almost two years after sitting for this picture, at age 105. Of the many photographs Morrison took of him, he selected this one as the definitive portrait, capturing Paddy's ‘wonderful gaze’, revealing ‘a man of pride who perhaps never wished to be “the Last of the Few”’. Donated by the artist in 2024. Copyright: Alistair Morrison / RAF Museum.