Remembering Bohdan Mordas

Bohdan (first on left) with members of St John's Ambulance Branch which he founded

I was shocked to hear of the death on July 17th this year of Polish community leader Bohdan Mordas. He was a long term member of the parish committee for the Polish church in Ealing and played an important role in the acquisition of the present church in Windsor Road in 1985 and in gaining planning permission for it from a then reluctant Ealing Council.
He was active in setting up the highly successful Polish St John Ambulance Division in Ealing, was responsible for many years for running the Courtfield Luncheon Club, chaired the Polish Housing Association in Ealing for many years and was a trustee of the Polish Cultural Foundation and as such initiated the Polish editions of "Ealing Gazette" which appeared in 2008.
He was also a long term member of the Ealing Council Steering Committee on twinning with Bielany.
He was one of the heroes of my book "Hello, I'm your Polish Neighbour". A true gentleman, always quiet spoken, polite and constructive, his calm outward demeanour hid a devoted passionate and very hard working community organizer who served the people of Ealing as well as the wider Polish community in London.
I cherish his memory as a great Pole, a lover of humanity and a great friend.