Paddy Hemingway, the last remaining pilot that took part in the Battle of Britain passed away today aged 105 in Ireland. A true hero and recently immortalised in a statue at the Kent Battle of Britain Museum at Hawkinge.
Apologies if I have mentioned this before but ten years ago, a group of my pupils wrote thank you letters to the 19 Battle of Britain pilots who were still alive at that point. It was a hugely successful project as we had 13 pilots reply to our letters, some sending photos and stories about their experiences. Dame Vera Lynn also wrote to say that the project had 'brightened my day'.
The pilots were delighted to be acknowledged by youngsters whilst the pupils were excited to receive letters from such significant figures in British history. One pilot recorded a video interview especially for us:
Unfortunately, none of the pilots were fit enough to make the journey to visit our school but I visited the homes of pilots, Geoffrey Wellum and Nigel Rose, and enjoyed several hours talking about their wartime experiences. John Hemingway was not one of the pilots to whom we had written as it was only later that his family came forward and let 'the authorities' know that he was still alive and where he was living. We wrote thank you letters to him last summer. I feel sad this morning to read the news but so privileged to have had some contact with these heroes.
Apologies if I have mentioned this before but ten years ago, a group of my pupils wrote thank you letters to the 19 Battle of Britain pilots who were still alive at that point. It was a hugely successful project as we had 13 pilots reply to our letters, some sending photos and stories about their experiences. Dame Vera Lynn also wrote to say that the project had 'brightened my day'.
The pilots were delighted to be acknowledged by youngsters whilst the pupils were excited to receive letters from such significant figures in British history. One pilot recorded a video interview especially for us:
Unfortunately, none of the pilots were fit enough to make the journey to visit our school but I visited the homes of pilots, Geoffrey Wellum and Nigel Rose, and enjoyed several hours talking about their wartime experiences. John Hemingway was not one of the pilots to whom we had written as it was only later that his family came forward and let 'the authorities' know that he was still alive and where he was living. We wrote thank you letters to him last summer. I feel sad this morning to read the news but so privileged to have had some contact with these heroes.
Geoffrey Wellum always came across so well in the documentaries he appeared in and his book First Light is a fantastic read.
Comments
Unfortunately, none of the pilots were fit enough to make the journey to visit our school but I visited the homes of pilots, Geoffrey Wellum and Nigel Rose, and enjoyed several hours talking about their wartime experiences.
John Hemingway was not one of the pilots to whom we had written as it was only later that his family came forward and let 'the authorities' know that he was still alive and where he was living. We wrote thank you letters to him last summer.
I feel sad this morning to read the news but so privileged to have had some contact with these heroes.
RIP