A recent Songs of Praise programme focussed on the influence of the Bible on people in difficult situations. They told the story of John Borland who in 1940, at the age of 20, was captured by the German forces and spend five years as a prisoner of war. After the successful Dunkirk evacuation John and his comrades in the 51st Highland Division were cut off at St Valery in Normandy. John and a sergeant took shelter in a lighthouse but within minutes the sergeant was shot and killed. John was left alone without food, water, or ammunition, and a wounded foot.
The following day, on 11th June 1940, John was captured. “I was marched off with a revolver at my back,” he recalled. John, together with 8000 other soldiers, became prisoners of war for the next five years. As John was being led away something very significant happened: “As I walked, a piece of paper fluttered across my path. I picked it up and put it in my pocket. That night, before falling asleep, I looked at the paper and discovered it was a page of printed Bible verses. It was called ‘Good News to All Men’ and on it someone had written ‘Don’t give up’. It became a window in my prison house.”
During his time as a prisoner of war John said, “The printed Bible tract became my Bible for the next five years. With it, I held short services for some of the boys in the prison camps. I still have it today, and I would never part with it. I promised that if I got home safely, I would serve the Lord. I did, and I always felt there was a guardian angel watching over me that day on the beach.” In January 1945, as the Russian forces advanced, the prisoners were forced on a death march through Poland. Many died along the way, but in April, John managed to escape by rolling into a ditch and was later picked up by an American tank.
After the war, John fulfilled his promise to serve the Lord. He mentored boys in the Christian faith through the Boys’ Brigade, Sunday School, and football coaching in Govan and Rutherglen. One of the most famous boys he mentored was Sir Alex Ferguson who wrote about John in his autobiography: “John Borland was one of the biggest influences on my earlier life and I always held him in deep affection. He instilled a sense of discipline and Christian values into my life and many other boys – through the Boys’ Brigade, Sunday School and football training. He always took such a passionate interest in our formation and well-being. He was my mentor, a lifelong friend, and a hero.” John went to be with his Saviour, Jesus, in September 2011 at the age of 92 having faithfully lived out his commitment to the Lord.