We must not forget civilian victims of both world wars

Damage... the Blitz devastated the capital

A NATIONAL memorial is needed to remember civilian victims of the two world wars, an antiques dealer who was orphaned in the Blitz has said.

Jeff Borsack’s parents both died when a bomb hit their air raid shelter when he was just three.

Now he wants to commemorate the 90,000 civilians killed by enemy action in the First and Second World Wars.

Orphaned

He is launching his campaign on the 80th anniversary of the Blitz which is reckoned to have started on September 7, 1940.

Jeff, 83, was orphaned in a raid on Birmingham where he had been sent to escape the bombing of the capital. He was then raised in poverty by his grandmother.

He has now set up a petition for the Civilians Killed by Enemy Action Memorial. Jeff said: “Our association represents the families and relatives of the estimated 90,000 UK civilians killed. We attend annual memorial ceremonies at the Garden of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey and the Cenotaph in London.

“Regretfully, there is no national memorial to the UK civilians who lost their lives during those terrible times.

“Our aim is to get such a memorial erected. This September marks the 80th anniversary of the start of the Blitz, so it’s important that our voice is heard now.

“Both my parents, Archie and Lilly, were killed on November 2, 1940, in the Blitz when I was just three. My mother had taken me to Birmingham to escape the bombing in London.

“My father had been called up but had come to make sure we had settled in.

“I was ill with measles and they took me to the hospital. They said they would see me in the morning then went to a shelter which was hit by a bomb. It killed them and about seven other people including my aunt.

“The Blitz lasted for 108 days, during which time German bombers attacked every city, port, harbour and major town in this country, causing death and destruction.

Resilience

“The Germans’ aim was to bomb us into submission. But they didn’t count on the strength and resilience of the British people.

“I want the 80,000 Britons killed in the

Petition... Jeff with his parents’ photograph

Wreathed in smoke... St Paul’s in London

Second World War and the 10,000 in the First World War to be remembered.

“My generation is the last to have lived through the Second World War.

“Without a national memorial, the tragedy of all these deaths and the suffering of the survivors will be forgotten. We must not let our history be forgotten or sidelined, and our supporters believe that a permanent structure should be erected to the memory of all the innocents who perished at the hands of the enemy.”

The memorial would also honour those killed in the 1914- 18 war by German air raids and naval attacks. This includes the shelling of Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in December 1914 which killed nearly 600.

To view the petition see http:// chng. it/ sxRFLmYx