86-year-old British Army veteran finally becomes Bar Mitzvah in unique ceremony

He was not brought up Jewish; his mother hid her Judaism and changed her name when she came to the UK from France.

“It was never spoken about in the family,” he said. “I was never brought up knowing the ways of Jewish people. It was very strange because I knew where I came from but didn’t know anything about the actual life of a Jewish person.”

That changed, he said, “when my son came home from Bolivia and said: ‘I’m going to get married Dad, to a Jewish lady.’”

“He had no idea I was Jewish – none whatsoever. His mother wasn’t Jewish, so there was no reason to tell him.”

Barrie smiling as the crowd begins to sing (photo: Stan Kaye)[Missing Credit]

“But that moment, when he said he was going to marry a Jewish lady, was magic,” Barrie said. “At that moment, when he told me, and I told him where I came from, it was one of the many magic moments that my son and I have had together.”

They couple planned to marry in Cyprus, where Barrie had served, and was extremely reluctant to return to – “I saw troubled times there as a soldier,” he said.

But he overcame his reluctance for his son and described their wedding as a life-altering experience. “I felt like I had come back to the tribe,” he said, smiling.

The couple then went to Israel, and when Barrie first went to visit them in Haifa, he said that “the minute my foot set down in Haifa Airport was the most magic moment of my life”.

“I was back where I belonged. I had been searching all my life for that.”

The ceremony was officiated by Rabbi Nir Nadav, who is a regimental chaplain in the Royal Logistics Corps of the British Army.

He brought out a Torah from a set of doors at the back of the room, which acted as a makeshift ark, and guided Barrie, wearing a tallit over his distinctive red uniform, to read some blessings.

Barrie’s parashah was Naso, meaning “count”, which Rabbi Nadav said was no coincidence, as Barrie can finally be counted as part of a minyan.

Rabbi Nadav with the Torah scroll (photo: Stan Kaye)[Missing Credit]

Rabbi Nadav also hailed the uniqueness of the occasion, remarking upon how a teenage Bar Mitzvah boy thinks ahead to what they want to make of themselves as an adult, whereas Barrie had a long adult life to look back on.

“We know that you’re a good man,” Rabbi Nadav said. “We don’t know how a 13-year-old boy is going to grow up – but you’ve proven yourself already as a man of honour, a man of loyalty, and a good human.”

The event was organised thanks to the initiative taken by the Boys Clubhouse, an organisation which supports at-risk adolescent boys in the Jewish community.

Their staff had become friends with Barrie in recent years and set about organising his Bar Mitzvah when they learnt he had not had one as a teenager.

The Bar Mitzvah was held in a marvellous wood-panelled room in the Royal Hospital Chelsea (photo: Ben Conway)[Missing Credit]

The event was also supported by AJEX, the Jewish Military Association, whose parade Barrie attends every year, and staff at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

AJEX CEO Fiona Palmer said that it was an “incredibly emotional” occasion, and that “seeing [Barrie] called up to the Torah and speaking about what being part of the Jewish people means to him was amazing”.

Barrie told the JC that he was “overwhelmed” by the love and support shown on his big day.

The ceremony was followed by reception and music from Jonah Baron Cohen, known as JBC, and Dudi Ross.

You can hear Barrie Davey’s life story on the Ajex podcast, For Honour’s Sake, available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify