Jack Hemmings, the co-founder of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), has died aged 103.
Hemmings, who has described MAF as “the Good Samaritan of the skies”, established the Christian mission along with his late friend and fellow pilot Stuart King in 1945.
Today, MAF delivers relief workers, doctors, pastors, food and medicine to remote communities in more than twenty-five countries.
‘Peace and hope’
During the Second World War, Jack flew Lockheed Hudson and Douglas Dakota aircraft with 353 Squadron, which was tasked with maritime patrol and transport duties in South East Asia.
MAF’s formative period in the years that followed, he once observed, was shaped by a group of Christian pilots who “were all of one mind; namely that wartime had given us a skill that we wanted to offer to God. There was much prayer.”
Speaking of their legacy months before he died, Jack said: “Today, one cannot count the number of people whose lives have been enriched by MAF’s services.”
He added: “Seeing aircraft used as weapons of war – as we did as young RAF airmen – reminds me of MAF’s initial purpose: to use aeroplanes to bring peace and hope to needy places.”
Tributes
The Venerable Dr (Air Vice-Marshal) Giles Legood, Chaplain-in-Chief at the RAF, said: “As one of the founders of MAF, Mr Hemmings has shaped the organisation for nearly 80 years through hard work and personal sacrifice.
“Indeed, many owe their lives to him and the legacy he has created. His quiet humility, yet determination to make a difference, is inspirational.”
MAF UK CEO Donovan Palmer remarked: “Jack’s life will have impacted more people across the world than he will ever know. It is hugely sad for MAF to lose one of our pioneering founders, but we can be confident that Jack is now enjoying the promises of heaven.”
And Kate, Jack’s widow, reflected: “Oh my lovely Jack, this world will be very strange without you, but you’ve left it a better place for having lavished 103 years of love into it.”