101-year-old mission veteran takes to the skies once again

A pioneer of the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) has marked his 101st birthday by taking to the skies again.

Jack Hemmings, who is also a former RAF Squadron Leader, was given the flight as a surprise present.

In 1948, he flew from Croydon to Nairobi and began a ten-month survey which led to MAF being set up. The organisation now operates 120 aircraft in more than 25 countries. For his birthday, Mr Hemmings was taken up in a Robin DR400 plane along with his son-in-law, Chris Watts, a retired British Airways captain.