“Flying Legend”: RAF Veteran and aerobatics pilot honoured at Eastbourne to mark his 103rd birthday
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An RAF Veteran who flew Lockheed Hudson and Dakota aircraft with 353 Squadron during WWII and received the Air Forces Cross, shared birthday cake with Red Arrows Squadron Leader Graeme Muscat at Eastbourne Airbourne, who described the centenarian as a “flying legend”.
Jack Hemmings has continued flying well into his centenary, performing aerobatics on his 100th birthday in August 2021 and thought to be the oldest British pilot to perform manoeuvres of its kind. He also flew a spitfire in February 2024 from Biggin Hill airport to raise money for MAF, the charity he co-founded in 1945 after being demobilised from the RAF.
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Hide AdInvited to the Flight Deck pilot lounge for a special view of the displays on Thursday 15 August, Jack was presented with a selection of birthday cakes by Red 10 – Red Arrows Squadron Leader Graeme Muscat – shortly before they displayed above Eastbourne’s 30 airshow at 1430. Ground crew from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, as well as other visiting pilots also celebrated with Jack and his son Adrian Hemmings.


Shortly after the Red Arrows’ special 60th season performance, Jack said, “I was surprised by how long it went on; it was a really extensive display, and I don’t recall ever seeing another one like it.” He joked that he felt impressed that “they put it all on just for my birthday”, adding that the G-forces experienced by the pilots would have been “fairly gentle”, but it didn’t give him itchy feet to get back into aerobatics. The former Squadron Leader hinted that he would love to get back inside a Dakota, one of the aircraft he operated during WWII while stationed in India.
Master Aircrew Andy Welham-Jones from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, who maintains and operates the Historic Dakota aircraft, reminisced about Jack’s RAF flying. “Veterans are a real inspiration to us all,” Andy said. “They are what events like these are all about – and it’s why we do what we do.”
It’s the second time Jack has visited his local airshow – travelling from his home in Horam, Sussex, for his 102nd birthday last year to watch the air display; a day which he described as “thoroughly enjoyable.” Last year, the Red Arrows performed a surprise smoke flyover above his home during the evening, to which Jack remarked, “For a moment, I knew how the King must feel!”
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Hide AdIn between press interviews and birthday cake, Jack shared memories from his extensive flying career, which includes performing the first British humanitarian survey of Central Africa in 1948, where he, alongside D-Day landings RAF Engineer Stuart King, flew a wooden Miles Gemini aircraft from Croydon to Nairobi to launch MAF.


The result of the pair’s pioneering sortie is Mission Aviation Fellowship [MAF], which has grown to become the world’s largest humanitarian air service. Today, the charity operates 118 aircraft in more than 25 low-income countries to deliver aid, medical care and emergency evacuations in some of the world’s most isolated locations.
Jack explained, “When I first joined the RAF in 1940, I thought, ‘If I am going to fight in a war, I may as well do it sitting down!’ Getting into an aeroplane gives a sense of pleasant expectation – I’ve never got into one and regretted it. I love flying because it gives a feeling of detachment from all the problems in the world – and there are a lot of problems.
“During wartime, aircraft were used for destruction; but it has always been my desire that they be used for good. That is what MAF does today, it is more than a bright idea that stayed in someone’s head, it has grown exponentially to become the Good Samaritan of the air. Turning 102 doesn’t quite have the allure of 100, but it’s nice to have it behind me.”
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Hide AdSqn Leader Graeme Muscat continues to be impressed with Jack’s energy, tenacity, and passion for aviation, commenting, “He’s definitely a flying legend, and it’s an honour that I get to wish him happy birthday on behalf of the Red Arrows – and of course the wider Royal Air Force as well.”
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