‘Wartime gave us a skill that we wanted to offer to God’
As Remembrance Day approaches, 102-year-old veteran, Jack Hemmings, celebrates the start of a Christian humanitarian air service formed in the aftermath of the second world war
“I was 19 years old when I volunteered for aircrew,” smiles Jack Hemmings, from the pilot hub at Eastbourne airshow. He’s sitting among aviators, who are fascinated by his stories. “I thought: ‘If I am going to fight in a war, I may as well do it sitting down!’”
Reaching 102 is a rare and impressive achievement. Having the faith to fly a wooden Miles Gemini aircraft from Croydon to Nairobi with only a map, compass and a thermos flask in 1948, is even more so.
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