Gihon Sancta Maria Lodge

Richard Cavanagh, Deputy Editor, Arena, caught up with W Bro Jeff Borsack SLGR PPGADC PPGStB(RA) ULGR(Lec), who addressed the nation on the 80^th Anniversary of VE Day.

On 8th May 2025, the nation celebrated the 80^th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day, the day the Allies formally accepted Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces, bringing peace across the continent.

To mark this landmark anniversary, the BBC presented a two-hour celebration concert from Horse Guards Parade, London, attended by Their Majesties, the King and Queen, other members of the Royal Family, leading politicians and 12,000 members of the public.  It was a television event not only to celebrate the day the War ended across Europe, but also to reflect on the losses and sacrifices across the combined Armed Forces of the UK, the nations of its former Empire (now Commonwealth), and those of our Allied partners.  Importantly, it was likewise an opportunity to commemorate the significant civilian losses endured by the population. 

Indeed, the official civilian death toll during World War Two was approximately 70,000 (though other estimates place this as high as 80,000); compared with just 2,000 in World War One (which itself is still an awful toll).  The majority of civilian deaths in World War Two were due to German bombing raids during the Blitz, during which an estimated 40,000 civilians died between September 1940 and May 1941 – almost half of them in London. 

Nearing the end of the Anniversary event, at about 9.30pm on this glorious evening and with the buildings around Horse Guards illuminated in blue against the night sky, actor Richard Armitage took to the Union Jack emblazoned stage to remember the country’s civilian losses and, in doing so, delivered the testimony of 88-year-old Jeff Borsack, himself a war orphan.  Jeff’s parents were tragically killed during an air raid in Birmingham in November 1940, when he was just three years old. 

A Freemason of several decades, Jeff was originally initiated into Grecian Lodge in 1976, and was subsequently a long-standing member of Ajex Lodge No 8407, until its closure.  He recently joined Islington Lodge No 1471 (London’s Boxing Lodge) last year, due to his keen interest in boxing and having himself been a top amateur boxer in his youth.  Away from Freemasonry. Jeff is the National Chairman of the Ex-National Service Association and a leading antiques dealer, specialising in antique seals.  But tonight, on the 80^th anniversary of VE Day, Jeff was present in his role as Chairman of Civilians Killed by Enemy Action Memorial (CKEAM) UK in order to share his personal experience of the war and represent all those who lost loved ones on the home front during the conflict. 

On the vast stage within Horse Guards Parade, Richard addressed the audience: “Jeff Borsack left London aged 3 to escape the Blitz.  This is his story.”  He then proceeded to read Jeff’s words.

“My earliest memory of the war is standing with my mother, Lily, in Woolworths hearing an air raid siren.  We moved to Birmingham soon after.  My father, Archie, had been called up but he got leave to settle us in.  I had measles and so I was taken to the hospital with my parents.  They said that they would see me in the morning.  Unfortunately, that morning never came.  The shelter my parents were in was caught in the blast of a bomb and everybody died.  In the aftermath, no one could find my body, so I was marked as missing, presumed dead.  Nobody knew where I was.  I couldn’t tell the hospital anything other than my name.  So, when nobody came to collect me, I was sent off to an orphanage.  I remember sleeping on the floor with other children who had lost their mothers.  Eventually an uncle tracked me down and I remember being packed off on a train to my grandma’s with a label and an egg sandwich.” 

Jeff then took to the stage to address the audience himself and share his tribute to his Mum and Dad.  “Yes, Richard, I have seen the photographs of my parents.  They were so full of life, and they died so young; and I have pledged myself to devote my life to their memory and the memory of all the UK citizens that died as a result of the war.  Thank you all.” 

Watched on by the Royal Family and 10,000 members of the public, Jeff and Richard embraced to a warm and heartfelt round of applause. 

The eloquence and resonance of Jeff’s testimony was such that the actor confided to the PA news agency ahead of the performance: "I practised it a few times and it does choke me up a little bit.”

We recently caught up with Jeff to talk about his experience attending the VE Day 80^th Anniversary event, as well as his ongoing efforts to acknowledge those civilians who died during the war.  Jeff again reflected on his time at the hospital and the orphanage – where it took three years before his family finally tracked him down.  Jeff explained that nobody knew where he was as very few people had phones back then; so the process of Jeff’s family finding him was extremely long and arduous.  Indeed, such was the rarity of homes with telephones that Jeff recalls, when his uncle had a phone installed in around 1948, the entire family went round just to see it.

Recalling the special occasion of the 80^th Anniversary event, Jeff told Arena how he was honoured to take part in the BBC’s concert, watched by millions across the country: “I was totally amazed as to the commitment of the people who came to remember on the day, as it was a turning point in all our histories.  If it wasn’t for the bravery of the Forces, we would not be here today and the world would be totally different.”

As Chairman of CKEAM, Jeff is seeking a National Memorial to the largest loss of civilian casualties in UK history.  While there are several local and regional memorials dedicated to commemorating civilian losses, there isn’t a single national memorial, as is the case for those dedicated to military personnel.  Jeff explains why a National Memorial is so important to the families of those civilians killed on the home front during the war: “My reason for being there is that there is no National Memorial to the estimated 80,000 civilians killed in the country during the war as a result of enemy action – the largest loss of civilian life ever experienced by this country.” 

If you would like to support CKEAM’s appeal for a National Memorial, please get in contact with Jeff via the Secretary of Islington Lodge.

This article is part of the Arena Magazine Issue 58 – Summer 2025 edition.
Arena Magazine is the official online magazine of the London Freemasons – Metropolitan Grand Lodge and Metropolitan Grand Chapter of London.

Read more articles in Arena Issue 58 here.

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