Paul Farnes (1918–2020), last surviving WWII Battle of Britain flying ace

Paul Farnes was a fighter pilot for the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force, the last of the flying aces who fought the Battle of Britain during World War II. The fighter pilots who flew in the Battle of Britain were known as “The Few,” recalling Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s famous speech praising them: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” Farnes was a sergeant during the battle, later promoted several times until he was wing commander as the war ended, and his eight kills merited him the title of ace. Two other Battle of Britain fighter pilots survive, neither of them aces. In addition to the Battle of Britain, Farnes fought in the Battle of France as well as in North Africa.