Mission Aviation Fellowship Co-Founder Jack Hemmings Dies at 103

Hemmings was a decorated war pilot veteran and longtime humanitarian

Jack Hemmings, a decorated World War II veteran pilot and co-founder of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), died “peacefully in his sleep” on January 24 at 103, according to MAF’s website.

Jack was the oldest pilot to fly a Spitfire in Feb 2024 (credit: Jonathan Buckmaster via MAF)

Hemmings’ life in the sky began at just 19 years old when he joined the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force in 1941. During the height of World War II, a young Hemmings was stationed in British India as squadron leader of 353 Squadron. In 1946, Hemmings was awarded the Air Force Cross for his “exemplary gallantry while flying” during the war. And just last year, in February 2024, Hemmings became the oldest British person to take control of a Spitfire at the age of 102.

“Oh, my lovely Jack, this world will be very strange without you, but you’ve left it in a better place for having lavished 103 years of love onto it,” said Hemmings’ wife, Kate, on the tribute page.

After the war, Hemmings and fellow veteran pilot Stuart King co-founded Mission Aviation Fellowship—the “Good Samaritan of the skies” as Hemmings once dubbed it—to reach remote communities around the world with “medical supplies, Bibles, building materials, and emergency food in times of crisis,” according to the organization’s website. The pair of pilots undertook the organization’s first humanitarian survey flight across central Africa in 1948. Today, MAF is the world’s largest humanitarian airline.

Access to MinistryWatch content is free.  However, we hope you will support our work with your prayers and financial gifts.  To make a donation, click here.

“Grandpa Jack was a man of boundless energy, joy and love who filled every moment he could with adventure,” said his grandchildren on a tribute page made after his death. “Every time we see a little plane in the sky, we will think of him and proudly tell the legend of our remarkable Grandpa Jack.”

Hemmings is survived by his wife Kate, their son Adrian, and their three grandchildren—William, Beatrice, and Olivia.

Mission Aviation Fellowship has 0 stars and a C transparency grade on the MinistryWatch database, and a donor confidence score of 50. The low scores are largely because the ministry does not file a form 990 with the IRS. It does, however, post audited financial statements on its website.

TO OUR READERS: Do you have a story idea, or do you want to give us feedback about this or any other story? Please email us: [email protected]