Last Battle of Britain Pilot dies at 105

[vienna]

The last of the few...

A great man has probably given John Hemmingway and his compatriots in arms the best eulogy they could ever receive...

The gratitude of every home in our Island, in our Empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of world war by their prowess and by their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.

It is one of the wonders of mankind that the survival of nations very often depends on a very small fraction of their populace making the sacrifice of their lives and well being in the protection of the greater populace; it is also one of the failings of mankind to seem to quickly 'forget' that small fraction of their populace once hostilities end; the debt owed by the many to the so few really will never be paid...

RIP, Group Captain John Hemmingway, may you be given the wings you so richly deserve...

...and thank you, sincerely, for your service...



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