John Hemmingway Aged 101- Last Battle of Britain Pilot
 

Today marks the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain and only one veteran pilot remains; Irishman John Hemmingway Aged 101- Last Battle of Britain Pilot still living.

He was born in Dublin in July 1919 and still lives in Ireland. He joined the RAF in 1938 when it was not a particularly popular thing to do, since the memories of the Irish Easter Rising and Civil War were fresh in peoples minds. John Hemmingway is from a Church of Ireland (Anglican) family and I know from my recorded family memories and ancestry searches, that CoI members tended to see England in a more favorable light (as home) like Canadian, Australians and New Zealanders. However, thousands of Irish Catholics still served and lost their lives for GB.

BTW it would be wrong to think that opinion in Eire over men and women serving the British in WW2 was divided on religious grounds or in deed the issue of a United Ireland or not.

John Hemmingway may well be related to Ernest Hemmingway, as the rest of his family and cousins remained in Ireland, as was the case in late 19th Century when perhaps one brother left for the USA .

Re: John Hemmingway Aged 101- Last Battle of Britain Pilot
 

The way Irish WWII veterans were treated when they returned home is a disgrace and I'm not talking just about those who deserted from the Irish Army but all who joined the British armed forces. It is only relatively recently that their contribution to the defeat of Hitler has been recognised and their service is still looked down upon in many quarters.