Denmark
Ejler Borch was born on 6 December 1925 in Copenhagen’s Nordvest district. He was working as an apprentice machinist when, aged 18, he joined BOPA in August 1944. BOPA, short for Borgerlige Partisaner (“Civilian Partisans”), was a Danish resistance organisation specialising in sabotage against factories, equipment and supplies supporting the German occupation.
Using the codename “Thor,” Borch served in Company Ib, led by Ole Ewé, within a sabotage group commanded by Pierre Jacques Honoré, known as “Mads.”
During the final months of the German occupation, Borch participated in several major sabotage operations in Copenhagen. These included attacks on Cheminova’s plant in Mørkhøj on 14 February 1945, the German Tankstelle fuel depot in Vanløse on 16 February, and the Always radio factory in Boyesgade on 27 March 1945. At Tankstelle, he carried a Madsen submachine gun and served in an armed covering group protecting the sabotage team. He later recalled the intense fear he experienced during the operation, which cost a fellow resistance fighter his life.
After the war, Borch became a marine engineer, working for 32 years on the Hundested–Grenaa ferry route.
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