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John Hemingway -The Last Of The Few
John Hemingway has died at the age of a hundred and five
It was the luck of the Irish he said that helped him to survive
At the age of nineteen he left his home in County Dublin
And enlisted in the Royal Air Force and was officially sworn in.
It was at the age of twenty-one that he took to the sky
After having gained his pilot wings enabling him to fly
He'd gone to England's assistance in their darkest hour
And he never once gave up even when things turned sour.
He was shot down four times but always found his way back
And defended our skies from a relentless German attack
Their brave defence became known as the ‘Battle of Britain’
But for those brave pilots Germany would have won I am certain.
He flew hurricanes and spitfires in combat during his career
Always facing the enemy head on and never showing any fear
Once his spitfire was shot down whilst on a mission over Italy
His parachute didn't deploy fully but his fall was broken by a tree.
Others called him a hero, but he never claimed himself to be
Often said he was just doing a job for the defence of the country
He lost many comrades on missions it was a dangerous thing to do
John and his fellow brave comrades became known as ‘The Few’.
It's people like John who made great sacrifices for their country
And it is because of their sacrifice we live in peace, and are free
We owe those brave pilots a great debt that we can never repay
How fitting for John that he died peacefully on St Patrick's day.
Group Captain John Allman Hemingway
17/07/1919 — 17/03/2025
Copyright ©
Tom Cunningham
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