issue33/autumn-winter2012 …international-brigades.org.uk/sites/default/files/ibmt... · 2018. 8....

Issue 33 /Autumn-Winter 2012www.international-brigades.org.ukIBMTNewsletter

INTERNATIONALBRIGADE MEMORIALTRUST

Anewplaqueforournationalmemorial

Photo:AndrewWiard

International BrigadeMemorial Trust2

IBMT FROMTHESECRETARY

InternationalBrigadeMemorialTrustwww.international-brigades.org.ukwww.facebook.com/groups/7123291063Charityno:1094928Patrons:KenLivingstoneandPaulPreston

Secretary: JimJump6StonellsRoad,[email protected]

President:[email protected]

Chair:DoloresLong0161-2262013;[email protected]

Treasurer:CharlesJepson01254-51302;[email protected]

IrelandSecretary:ManusO’[email protected]

MembershipSecretary:MaryGreening2WoodfordClose,[email protected]

EducationOfficer:RichardThorpe01724-798615;[email protected]

MerchandiseOfficer:ChrisHall0161-8617448;[email protected]

OtherExecutiveCommitteemembers:MikeArnott,RichardBaxell,RodneyBickerstaffe,PaulineFraser,Hilary Jones,DuncanLongstaff

Membershipapplications,renewalsandqueriesshouldbesenttoMembershipSecretaryMaryGreening.Allothercorrespon-denceshouldgotoSecretary JimJump.

IBMTNEWSLETTERThe IBMTNewsletter ispublishedthreetimesayearandissentfreetoallmembers.BacknumberscanbedownloadedfromtheIBMTwebsiteon[www.international-brigades.org.uk/newsletter.htm].Allcontentis©IBMTandcreditedcontributorsandcannotbereproducedwithoutpermission.

Editor: JimJump(seecontactdetailsabove)

KeepingalivethememoryandspiritofthemenandwomenfromBritain,IrelandandelsewherewhovolunteeredtodefenddemocracyandfightfascisminSpainfrom1936to1939

ByJimJump

Ourwell-attendedcommemorationonLondon’sSouthBankon7July (seebackpage)wasagreatsuccess.Highlightsof

theeventcanbeseen inavideobyMarshallMateer thathasbeenpostedonournewYouTubenewssite–see [www.youtube.com/user/IBMTnews].OverleafarethetwopoemsthatwerereadbyFrancescaBeard.Manypeopleat thecommemorationcom-

mentedonthefineappearanceof thenationalmemorial.With its recent relocation in JubileeGardens, the IBMThastakentheopportunity torepair theplinthandbronzesculptureby IanWalters–thereweresomeareasofoxidisationandasmallcrack–andrestorethememorial tosomethingresembling itsconditionwhenitwasunveiled in1985.Thisall costus£2,250,but I’mpleasedtosay

thatwereceivedagrantof£937.50fromtheWarMemorialsTrustandsuccessfullyclaimedarefundof£375inVATunderaschemerunbytheDepartment forCulture,MediaandSport.

AmemorialtooforMickJonesEveryoneactive in the IBMTwasdeeplysad-denedbythenewsofMick Jones’death inAugust (seeobituaryonpage14).An IBMTtrusteeandsonof the legendaryBrigaderandtradeunion leader Jack Jones,Mickwasahighlyaccomplishedartistanddesigner inhisownright.Howfittingthereforethat less thanfourweeksbeforehisdeathhewasabletowitnesstheunveilingof the IBMT’snewplaque in JubileeGardens. ItwasMickwhooriginallyproposedtheplaqueandwhoconceived itsdesign.Picturedonour frontpage, theplaque is in itselfa lastingmemorial toMick.

Plansforanti-fascistOlympicsin1936ThanksgotoRodneyBickerstaffe for remindingeveryoneat the JubileeGardenscommemora-tionthat theSpanishRepublicboycottedthenotorious1936BerlinOlympicGamesthatwereusedasashowcaseforNazism.WiththeLondonOlympicsabout tostart,our

Rodney–he’san IBMTTrustee–saidthat theSpanishRepublicknewexactlywhat fascismmeant. Instead, itwasorganisingthePeoples’Olympiad inBarcelona.Thegamesweresched-uledtorunfrom22-26July1936,buthadtobecancelledafterFrancoandtheothergeneralslaunchedtheircoupon18July–receiving instanthelp fromNaziGermanyofcourse.Manyathletesandhelpers,drawnfromtrade

unionsandworkers’associations fromaroundtheworld,hadalreadymadetheirwaytoSpainandmanyof themjoinedthemilitiasandlater

the InternationalBrigadesto fight thefascistuprising.AmongthemwerevolunteerssuchasNatCohenfromLondon’sEastEnd,whohadcycledthroughFrancetotakepart in thegames,andAustralian-bornAileenPalmerwhowasworkingfor theOlympiadasatranslator.ShesoonjoinedtheBritishMedicalUnitandservedinSpainuntil thespringof1938.Incidentally, thePeoples’Olympiadalso fea-

tures in“Pantheon”, thebest-sellingthrillerbySamBourne(pen-nameofGuardian journalistJonathanFreedland).TheplotcentresonBritishpsychologist JamesZennor,whointhesummerof1936meetsbiologistFlorence inBarcelona,whereshe isduetocompeteasaswimmer intheOlympiad.Hestays inSpainto fight thefascists.Mostof theactionthentakesplace in1940whenFlorence,nowJames’swife,andtheirchildmys-teriouslygomissing.

OlympianswhodiedinSpainOurIrelandSecretaryManusO’RiordanhasalsotakenupthethemeoftheInternationalBrigadesandtheOlympics. InalettertoHistoryIrelandhepointsoutthatat leasttwoOlympians,oneIrishandtheotherEnglish,gavetheir livesfightingagainst fascisminSpain.Churchof IrelandministerBobHilliardwasthe

bantamweightboxingchampionof Ireland in1923-24andwastheonlycivilian in the Irishbox-ingteamatthe1924Olympics inParis,wherehe

OLYMPICIMAGES:Poster(above)fortheBarcelonaPeoples’Olympiad.See“1936:Theanti-fascistOlympics”.Below:ThomasHeatherwick’sOlympicCauldron.See“Likegrandfather,likegrandson…”.

Withhelp,ournationalmemorialhasbeenrestored

lostonpointsagainstanArgentinianopponent.Hewaskilled inthe1937Battleof Jarama.LondonLabourcouncillorLewisClivehada

moresuccessfulOlympicGamesin1932,wroteO’Riordan.Hewonagoldmedal forBritain incoxlesspairs rowing.Hewaskilledduringthe1938Battleof theEbro.O’Riordan’s letterwaspromptedbyamention

inHistory Ireland’s July/August issuethatIreland’s teammanagerat the1932games,EoinO’Duffy,subsequentlysidedwiththefascists intheSpanishCivilWar.

Likegrandfather, likegrandson…StillontheOlympics,ThomasHeatherwick,whocreatedtheemblematicclusteroftorchesintheLondonOlympicsStadiumthisyear, isthegrand-sonofanInternationalBrigader,MilesTomalin.HeatherwickisoneofBritain’smostfashion-

abledesigners.AswellastheOlympicCauldron,withits204coppertorchesrepresentingthenumberofcountriesparticipatinginthegames,hisworksincludethenewRoutemasterLondonbusandthegiantBoftheBangsculptureout-sidetheCityofManchesterStadium.Heistheproductofaartistic family.Hisgrand-

father–whodiedin1983whenThomaswas14,wasapoetandgraphicdesigner.MotherStefanyTomalin,whohastakenpart inanumberof IBMTevents, isafoundingmemberoftheBeadSocietyofGreatBritainandhaswrittenbooksonbeads.SadlyThomas’grandmotherandwidowofMilesTomalin,ElisabethTomalin,diedearlier thisyear(seeobituaryonpage14).

BacktotheMiddleEast!Herewegoagain–anotherquestionableinvoca-tionoftheSpanishCivilWarinacommentoneventsintheMiddleEast.WritingaboutthecrisisinSyriaintheFinancialTimeson19July,RobertSpringborg,ProfessorofNationalSecurityAffairsattheUSNavalPostgraduateSchool,blamesthefascists’successinSpainonWesterndemocra-cies’reluctancetobacktheRepublicans–partlybecauseoffearsaboutcommunistswithintheirranks.TheWest’shesitancytosupporttheSyrianopposition,headds,isbasedonsimilarmis-guidedmotives,withanti-governmentforcesseenasbeinginfiltratedorevendominatedbyIslamists.Thefundamentalflawinthisargumentliesin

theword“reluctance”.BritainwasnotreluctanttohelptheSpanishRepublic. Itpositivelyrefusedtodoso,inthefullknowledgethatthiswouldleadtoFranco’svictory,anditdidsointhecontextofawiderpolicyofappeasingFranco’sallies–fascistGermanyandItaly.Noforeignpowersarebeingappeasedbythe

WestinSyria. Indeed,theUSandUKaregiving,rightlyorwrongly,amplehelptotherebelsinSyria, includingmilitaryassistanceviaitsalliesintheregion,inwhatisseenbymanyexpertsasaproxywaragainstIranianandRussianinfluence.TheWesternpowershavesofarnotintervenedmilitarilyinSyria–presumablythisisthe“hesi-tancy”thatSpringborgwritesabout–butthatwasneveratissueintheSpanishCivilWar.No-

oneseriouslycalledforBritishtroopstoinvadeSpain.WhatwasdemandedwastheliftingofthearmsembargoonthedemocraticandlegitimategovernmentofSpain.

StandingupforJackBrentCongratulationsto IBMTmembers JohnDickieandJimandFrancieBainbridgeforcomingtothedefenceofGeorgeDickie–knownasJackBrent in the InternationalBrigades–aftera furi-ousrowerupted intheGallowayGazetteoveran IBMT-supportedevent tocommemoratethecentenaryofhisbirth.Several letters forandagainstDickiewere

published inMarchfollowingtheevent, includ-ingonefromsonJohnDickie,whonowlives inNorthampton.“Myfatherandmyuncle [JohnDickie]didnot fight forkingandcountry–theyfought for theirpeopleandtheirclass,andthatstillmakesmeproud,”hewrote.Other lettersaccusedDickieseniorofbeingacommunistdeserter fromtheBritisharmyandsaidthere

weremanyother localheroes fromtwoworldwarswhoweremoredeservingofcommemoration.A letter fromthe

Bainbridges,ofNewtonStewart,Wigtownshire,declared:“JackBrentandmanythousandsofotherordinary folkwere idealists,

andvolunteered individually to fightFranco’snationalists,oneof theevil fascist regimeswhich laterengulfedEurope.TheBritishgovern-menthadstoodbyandallowedFranco’smerce-naries,backedandencouragedbytheCatholicChurch, toslaughter thousandsof innocents,whosoughtonlydemocracyandfreedom.…Left-wingshipyardworkers fromtheClydeandminers fromFife–aswaswellasWhithorn“deserters” joinedtheworldwide influxofvol-unteers indefenceofdemocracy.”Canadian-bornDickiemovedwithhis family

toWhithorn,Dumfries&Galloway,soonafterhisbirth.DuringtheBattleof JaramainFebruary1937hewasseverelywoundedandhedied inWhithorn–wherethere isaplaque inhishon-our– in1951at theageof39.

WhowereLeila’slovers?Therewasaninterestingobituaryofchildren’swriterLeilaBerg(néeGoller) inTheGuardianon23April.See[www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/apr/23/leila-berg].Berghaddiedsixdaysear-lierattheageof94andobituaristRosemaryStonesdescribedhowin1937LeilaspenthertimewritingandorganisingaidtoSpain,adding:“Twoofher loverswereintheInternationalBrigadesandwerekilled.”ThisreferencetothetwovolunteerswhodiedinSpainwasrepeatedinobituaries inTheIndependentandDailyTelegraph,againwithoutfurtherdetails.Doesanyoneknowtheidentityofthetwolovers?

3International BrigadeMemorial Trust

BODYART:Withtattoosbackinfashion, itwasinevitablethatsomewithInternationalBrigademotifswouldsoonappear.Picturedright(bottom)istherightlegofPabloVillalbaEguren,26,fromLogroñoinnorthernSpain,featuringthedesignofthefamous1937“LosInternacionales”poster.Meanwhile, theIBMTFacebooksitecontinuestobealivelyforum–nowwithnearly1,700followers.OnerecentthreaddealtwithInternationalBrigadetattoosandbodypainting(twoexamplespictured).MakesureyoujointheFacebookgroupon[www.facebook.com/groups/7123291063].

JackBrent.


ANNUALCOMMEMORATION

TwopoemsbyFrancescaBeardFrancescaBeard (right) recited thesepoemsat the IBMT’s JubileeGardenscommemorationon7 July.Shewrote“WitnessasHero”specially for theevent.“Gernika”waswrittenearlier thisyear tomark the75thanniversaryof thebombingofGuernicaandwas first readoutatan IBMT-sponsoredmemorialevent inLondonon26April thatwasorganisedbyPhilosophyFootball.Introducing“Gernika”,shesaid:“Iwillbe inspired for therestofmy lifebywhat Ihave learntabout themenandwomenwhowent toSpain to fight inandsupport the InternationalBrigade.”See: [www.francescabeard.com].

WitnessasHeroi.Thisisforyou,Whosetdownpints,Gavenotice,Tradedinguitar,bike,seasontickets,Five-a-sideintherain,FridaynightatthepictureswithAnnie,Sally,

Jane,ForSpain.

Forhowtocleanagun,Holaamigo,garlic,Earthforapillow,Nightsweats,brokenthread,Themanyoucalledbrother,Bleedingout,warmandwet,Onabedofroughgrassandsheepdroppings,Theknowledgeofwhatit istobehumanFromthepointofviewofananimal.

Thisisforyou,Whocameback,Triedtogetajobwithyourredscoresheet,Adiosamigo.Gamylegputyouingoal,Butyou’renotasafepairofhands.Can’tstandtheroarofthecrowdfromthe

stands.SeeJaneyonthestreet,pushingapram,Butwarmoviesdon’tdoitforyouanymoreandThoughSundayroastisstill thesameYou,youhavechanged.

Thisisforyou,whogaveyourall,CamebacktofindLifegoeson,Truth’samoveablefeastandHonour,freedom,solidarityArewordsthatcanbeusedbyanybody,Passedaround,barteredlikecurrency.

Thisisforyou,notideal.Thisisforyou,witnesstothereal.

ii.Andonadaylikeotherdays,Tea-warmed,toast-crumbed,hazy,Weshakeopenthenewspaper,Readtheheadlines,lazy.

Andonadaylikeotherdays,Hazy,toast-crumbed,tea-warmed,Wescrolldownbbc.com,Digestthefactsandyawn.

Andonadaylikealltherest,Tea-warmed,hazy,toast-crumbed,Wewatchthewaronbreakfastnews,Incomfort,safeandnumb.Therewasaday,anothertime,Anotherworldatwar,Andintheword‘democracy’,Atruthworthfightingfor.

Soyoustooduptovolunteer,Youleftyoureasebehind,YoumadeyourwayacrossaseaTostanduponaline.

YouleftbehindyourfamiliesYouleftbehindyourhomesYouleftbehindyoursafety-netsAndeverythingyou’dknown.

YouwenttowardsthefurnacesOfbrutal,bloodywarYouwentbecauseyouropeneyesCouldsee,couldnotignore.

AndinthebalancesyouplacedThesumofallyourweightOnemancanmakethedifferenceinAtugofwarwithfate.

AndsomeofyoucamebackfromSpainAndsomeofyoucouldnotButeveryonewhowenttoSpainYouwillnotbeforgot.

ForeveryonewhohearsthetaleWillhearitandbemarkedAndeveryonewhoknowsyourtaleWillknowitbytheirheart.

Andhope,it isanemberWebreatheit intoflameAndbythatlightrememberYourcourageandyourfame.

July2012

GernikaAndsomewhere,Onafoldedplaneofspacetime,IntheAutonomousCommunityoftheBasque

Country,IntheprovinceofBiscay,InthetownofGernika,OnApril26th1937,AthalfpastfouronaMonday,Thereisnosinglepealofthechurchbell.

TherearenoHeinkel111s,NoJunker52s,Nogrenades,Nomachineguns,No22tonnesofnobombs.

BetweenfiveandsixthatafternoonNofighterplanesflylow,herdingNomen,womenandchildrenBackintonoexplodedstreets.ThereisnoattemptbyciviliansToescapefromtheirhomes,Withtheirlivesandloves.Nopilotsthroughnowindshieldsviewwithout

pityNoanguishonnofaces.No-onepullstriggers,Pumpsmetal,mutilatesanimals.No-onetakesawayno-one’sfuture.

Previously,onEarth,ArchdukeFerdinandRemainedinsidethebuilding,FranciscoFrancowasnotentitled,HitlerneversharedanopinionWithanyotherlike-mindedhumanbeing,Mussolinididnotputonbraideduniform.Therewerenogougedouthierarchies.No-onedevisedsignaturestylesofmarching,No-onerecruitedno-onefornotorturesquads,NoLuftwaffe,nospecialsecretinnersanctums.No-one’shandsortaxeswereusedtomakeor

buymunitions,NoglasswasshatteredonnoKristallnacht,No-onestoodbyanddidnothing.No-onethrewthefirststone.

Andonthatothercurveofspacetime,No-onesaysThisisalsomyfight,Thisisalsomywar,Thisisalsomyfreedom,myduty,myworld.No-onegivesuptheirhome,theirsafety,their

family,No-onedoesthatwillingly,No-oneasksforwhomthebelltolls.

Andsomewhere,Rightnow,inamarkettown,Inamarketsquare,Everyoneishere,Connectedandentire,Toholdeachotherandsay,Thankyouforyourgift.Thisiswhatit istoliveSosomewhereelsewewillnotdie.Thisiswhatit istodieSosomewhereelsewelive.

MembersmarkBattleofBruneteanniversaryIBMTmemberstravelledtoBruneteforthe75thanniversarymarchon30June,joiningItalianandNorthAmericanfriendsandrelatives,aswellasmembersofAABISpanishInternationalBrigadesfriendshipgroupandlocalhistoriansforatrulyinternationalcommemoration.Themarchheldparticularsignificancefor

BrianWalsh,whoseuncleEddyWalshwasfatallywoundedduringthebattle,andforFreddyShaw,whosefatherJackShaw(néSchuckman)wasarunnerforBritishBattalioncommanderJockCunninghamandwasoneofonly42mem-bersofthebattalion,outofatotalof330,whosurvivedthebattleunscathed.

BrianlatervisitedthemonasteryatElEscorialwhere,hehadfoundoutonlyrecently,hisunclewastakenfromthebattlefieldtothehospitalthathadbeensetupthereandsubsequentlydied.Thereisneithergravenormemorialforhim,norforanyofthosewhofoughtanddiedfortheRepublicatBrunete.TheIBMTmembersatthecommemorationfeltthiswasascandalthatmustberectified.Leadingthebattlefieldwalk,AABISecretary

SeveMonterowasjoinedbylocalhistorianErnestoViñastoprovideinformationaboutthebattle.Thisincludedaerialphotographspin-pointingthepositionoftheBritishBattalionbeforetheattackonVillanuevadelaCañada.Viñasdescribedhowwithin48hoursthefas-

cistsgainedcontroloftheairandGermanCondorLegionJunkers,HeinkelsandMesserschmitt109sandItalianCapronisbombedandstrafedtheRepublicanforcescontinuously.Heavyartillerybarragesalsotooktheirtoll.Brunetesawthedeathsof69membersoftheBritishBattalion,amongstwhomwereseveralof itsleaders–GeorgeNathan,CharlieGoodfellow,GeorgeBrownandBillMeredith.Themarchpausedreflectivelyattheconflu-

enceofthenowdryAulenciariverandtheGuadarramariver. JimNeugass,fromtheUS,readapoembyhisfather,whoservedasanambulancedriverduringthebattle.AnotherpoemreadoutwasonebyScottishvolunteerJohnDunlop,“Brunete12July1937:AnOdetomyComrades”.PaulineFraserspokethenamesof

someoftheBritishBrigaderswhohadfallenandaminute’ssilencefollowedtohonourthemem-oryofalltheBrigaderskilledatBrunete.

ReportcompiledfromcontributionsbyPaulineFraser,FreddieShawandBrianWalsh.

See“FindingUncleArthur”:page7.

CommemorativeplaqueforLabour’sCostaBlancaBranch

ByMalcolmHardy

AttheirannualMayDaylunchinthemountainvil-lageofTàrbenainSpain’sCostaBlanca,thelocalLabourInternationalBranchmembersweretreatedtoasurprisevisit fromVicentePedrerooftheFederaciónEstataldeForosporlaMemoria,theForumfortheHistoricalMemoryofSpain.Wordhadreachedtheforumofthebranch’s

continuedsupportfortheSpanishRepublicancauseandtheroleoftheInternationalBrigadesintheSpanishCivilWar.ContactcameviaGeronimoPinet,owneroftheCasaPinetrestau-rant(www.casapinet-tarbena.com)wherethelunchwasheld,whoisastaunchRepublican.Vicentepresentedthebranchwithaplaque

andaninscribedSpanishRepublicanflag.Infactthiswashissecondbidtomakethe

presentationonbehalfoftheforum.Hehad

International BrigadeMemorial Trust 5

Pyreneescrossingfollowsfootstepsof75yearsago

NEWS

ParticipantscamefromBritain,Italy,SpainandNorthAmerica. Continued overleaf

Undertheslogan“Walkersoftheworld,unite!”,agroupofwalkersfromEuropeandNorthAmericaconvergedonPerpignaninsouth-easternFranceon2June.ThenextdaysawthemcrossthePyreneesbyfoottocommemo-ratetheInternationalBrigadevolunteersof75yearsago.

Thewalkers–fromBritain,Germany,Ireland,Netherlands,PuertoRico,SpainandtheUS–stoppedalongthewayatseveralmemorialstoremem-berthevolunteers.PoemsandextractsfrommemoirswerereadoutandthesongsoftheBrigadersweresung.

AtamemorialontheSpanishsideofthebordertoLluisCompanys,whowastheCatalanPresidentduringtheSpanishCivilWar,thewalkersweremetbythemayorsofthreelocalvillages:LaJonquera,AgullanaandLaVajol.CompanyswasarrestedbytheGestapoinParisfollowingthefallofFrance–wherehehadsoughtrefugeafterthefallofCatalonia–andwassentbacktoSpainwhereFrancohadhimexecutedbyfiringsquadin1940.

Alsorememberedwerethethreeveteranswhotookpartinacommemora-tivecrossingin2006,BobDoyle,JackEdwardsandJackJones,andIBMTmemberMaggieComley,whosuggestedtheroute.Allhavesincedied.

Acrossthemountains,the25-stronggroupjoinedSpanishfriendsandrepresentativesoftheCatalangovernmenttore-dedicateaplaquefortheInternationalBrigadesintheCastleofSaintFerdinandinFigueras.

Earlyin1937,notlongaftertheInternationalBrigadeswereformed,theFrenchgovernmentclosedtheborderwithSpainunderthe“non-interven-tion”pact.Aftertheclosure,volunteerswereledbynightalongsmugglers’pathstoavoidFrenchborderguards.

IBMTTrusteePaulineFraser,whoorganisedtheevent,commented:“Theinternationalcompositionofthe2012contingentreflectedthatofthe

Brigadersthemselves,whocamefromallpartsoftheworldandwerepre-paredtolaydowntheirlivesinthefightforfreedom.”�Twobottlesofcommemorativewine,madespeciallyforthecrossingbyasympatheticwinegrowerinFrenchCatalonia,wereauctionedattheIBMTsocialafterthe7JulycommemorationonLondon’sSouthBank.Thetopbid,for£25,camefromthetraindrivers’unionASLEFintheformofunionvicepresidentToshMcDonaldandexecutivecouncilmemberMarzColombini.

AfilmofthePyreneeswalk,madebyMarshallMateer,canbeviewedontheIBMT’sYouTubenewssite.Goto:[www.youtube.com/user/IBMTnews?feature=guide].

Crossing theborder in2012onpathsusedbythevolunteers.

6

HAMBURG:MembersoftheKFSRGermanInternational

BrigadesfriendshipgroupmetinHamburgon18-20Mayfora

weekendofevents.Amongotherthings,theyremembered

the75thanniversaryofthenotoriousbombingofGuernicaon26April1937bydrapingthecity’sNaziwarmemorialwithacopyofPicasso’siconicpaint-

ingcommissionedbytheSpanishRepublicforitspavil-

lionattheParisworldfair.

LONDON:USprotestsingerDavidRovicsispicturedhereinastillfroma15-minutefilmbyGreggMcDonaldofConsequentialFilms

thatwasshotataGuernica75thanniver-sarynightinLondon

on26April.OrganisedbyPhilosophyFootballandco-sponsoredbytheIBMTandtheBasqueChildrenof ’37Association(BC37A),theeventalsosawperformancesbyfolkduoNa-maraandpoetFrancescaBeard.SpeakersincludedhistorianHelenGraham,Guardian journalistSeamusMilneandartistPeterKennard.Theevening,heldatFilthyMacNasty’spubinIslington,

raised£410thatwassharedbetweentheIBMTandBC37A.ToseeGreggMcDonald’sfilm,goto:[www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVuzOrZ_95E].

RefugeesreturntoSussexafter75years

turnedupattherestaurantlastyear,butwasdelayedandarrivedtoolate. Suchwashisdeter-mination,however,thathetravelledfromMadridagainin2012.

MalcolmHardyisamemberoftheIBMTandchairoftheCostaBlancaBranchofLabourInternational,theconstituencyoftheBritishLabourPartyformemberslivingoutsidetheUK.Thebranch’ssocialprogrammehasincludedtripstovariouscivilwar-relatedsitesintheTarragona,CartagenaandAlcoyareas.See[www.labintspain.org.uk].

UnitingcommunitiesinBelfastJohnQuinnandGerardMurray fromBelfasthaveauthoredareport,“NotOrangeorGreenbutRed”,describingtheSpanishCivilWarproj-ectbeingrun jointlybytheBelfastCulturalandLocalHistoryGroupandtheex-Irishrepublicansocialistprisoners’groupTeachNaFáilte.Over thepast twoyears theprojecthas

resulted inseveral local initiatives,notably theunveilingofplaquestoBelfastvolunteersandalecturedayatwhichthecontributionof theworking-classcommunities in thecity totheanti-fasciststruggle inSpainwasexplainedtolocalactivists.Thekeypurposeof theproject,sayQuinnand

Murray, is tohighlight thesharedanti-fascistheritageof theCatholicandProtestantcommu-nities inBelfast.“Theirstandknewnosectarianbarriers,”

saysQuinn,a localhistorianwhochairs theBelfastCulturalandLocalHistoryGroup.“Ittranscendedtheirpoliticalmake-upandgaveusa legacythatweasonecommunitycannot

onlybeproudofbutwhichcanbeownedbyall.”Sofar therehavebeentwonewplaques:one

to JimStranney,killedat theBattleof theEbro inAugust1938,whocamefromarepublicanback-ground,another toLiamTumilson, fromthe loy-alistareaofEastBelfast,whodiedat JaramainMarch1937.Theplaqueswereunveiled lastyear,whenaJimStranneyMemorialLecturewasalsoorganised.Murray,whois thechairofTeachNaFáilte,

saysthereareplansformorecross-communityactivitiessothat“thecommitmentandsacri-ficemadebytheIrishmenfrombothcom-munities,CatholicandProtestant, is remem-beredwithasharedpride”.

Formore informationortoaskforacopyofthebooklet(above),contactJohnQuinn[[email protected]]orGerardMurray[[email protected]].

IBMTactivistMikeAndersonbroughtaforgottenepisodeofSussexlocalhistorytopublicattentionwhenheorganisedtheunveilingofaplaqueatayouthhostelwhererefugeechildrenfromRepublicanSpainstayedin1937/38.

Theceremonyon16MaywasattendedbyMirenandMoisesAlonso,twoofthe“niños”whohadstayedatTheGlade,thewoodenbuildingpurposelybuilttohouse20childrenatBlackboys,nearUckfield.

ErectedbytheCampbell-SommarugafamilyattheadjacentPounsleyFarm,TheGladewasoneofseveral“colonies”where4,000childrenwerehousedafterbeingevacuatedfromBilbaoinMay1937duringthebombingoftheBasqueCountrybyFrancoandhisGermanandItalianallies.

ItwasalsoatTheGladewhereMirenandMoisesmetand,as10and11-year-olds,firstfell inlove.MirenUribe-EchevarriawasrepatriatedtoSpainafterthewar,butMoisesmadehiswaytotheUS,promisingtoreturntoSpaintofindMirenwhenhewasabletodoso.

HekepthispromiseandtheyeventuallymarriedandraisedafamilyinNewYork.UntilMaythisyearandthe75thanniver-saryoftheirarrivalinEnglandtheyhadnotreturnedtoSussex.

Speakingattheunveiling,Mirensaid:“It’slikeadream.NowIcandiehappy.”

MikeAndersoncommented:“Iwantedaplaqueontheyouthhostelforvisitorsandlocalpeopletoknowaboutthisimportantpieceofhistory.TohaveMoisesandMirentakingpartmadeitaveryspecialevent.”

HeaddedthatmanyvolunteersintheInternationalBrigades,alongwithmanyhundredsofpeoplesuchastheCampbell-Sommarugafamily,hadhelpedtheniñosandotherSpanishRepublicanrefugees.

Fromprevious page

Guernicaremembered…

NEWS

OrganiserMikeAndersonhits theheadlines.

MirenandMoisesAlonsounveil theplaqueatTheGlade.

VicentePedrero(left)presentingtheplaquetobranchmemberKevinBruton,whoactedashisinterpreter.

International BrigadeMemorial Trust

ByCarolEllis

UncleArthurwasmymother’selderbrother.Towardstheendof1936hewenttovisithismother(mygrandmother)inLambeth,

southLondon,tosayhewasgoingawayashehadfoundworkelsewhereandwouldsendhisaddressonwhenhewassettled.Thiswasthelasttimetheysawhim.My

motherwas15yearsoldatthetime.ThefamilyfoundoutafterwardsthathedidnotwanttotellhismotherhewasgoingtoSpain.LaterhedidwritetotellherhewasinSpain,fightingintheSpanishCivilWartosupporttheRepublicagainstFranco.MyquesttofindoutmoreaboutUncleArthur

beganin2009whenIwasinLondonvisitingtheLondonEye.WhilewalkingthroughJubileeGardensIsawamemorialand,beingcurious,IreadtheinscriptionandtomysurpriseitwasinmemoryofthosewhohaddiedintheSpanishCivilWar.UntilthenIwasunawareofthememor-ial’sexistence.BackhomeItrackeddowntheIBMTviathe

internetandspoketothethenSecretaryMarleneSidaway.WithhelpfromMarleneandhistorianRichardBaxell I foundoutthatArthurDunbarwaslistedaskilledatBruneteinJuly1937.

SpanishhistorianRichardadvisedmetoget intouchwithErnestoViñas,aSpanishhistorianwhogathers informa-tionabouttheBattleofBrunete. IspokeonthephonewithErnestoandhesaidhewouldbehappytotakemyfamilyonatouraroundBrunete.HeaddedthathehadahighregardfortheInternationalBrigadevolunteers.So,alongwithmyhusbandRoy,mybrother

Tony,sister Janetandsister-in-lawCristina,westartedtoplanourtrip.WemetErnestoandhiscolleagueÁngel

RodríguezinMay2009.Theydescribedwhathadhappenedduringthebattle,pointingoutfeaturesof interestaswetouredthebattlefield.Fightinghadragedformanydaysandthecondi-tionsthevolunteershadhadtoendureseemedimpossible.However, theycontinuedtofight

andstoodtheirgrounduntil theywereorderedtomoveelsewhere.Thatdaywasveryemotional forusall;wefelt

somuchprideatwhatthosebraveBrigadersweretheretodoandyetsadnessforthelossoflives.Wefeltas ifwewerewalkingonsacredground.Thiswastrulyanexperiencenevertobeforgotten.Whenwegaveourfarewellsandthanksto

Ernesto,hepromisedtokeepintouchifhefoundoutanythingmoreaboutUncleArthur.Weheardnothingformorethantwoyears,

then, inNovember2011,Ernestocontactedusviaemail tosayhehadbeencarryingoutresearchinasmall towncalledColmenarViejo,about20milesnorth-westofMadrid,andhadcomeacrossaregisterofdeathsin1937inwhichan“ArthurDorBar”waslisted.Hewasdescribedasasoldierbelongingtothe2ndcompanyoftheBritishBattalionofthe15thBrigadeandhaddiedofwarwoundsafterarriv-ingatthemilitaryhospital inthetown.Hehadbeenburiedon15July1937.ErnestoconcludedthatthiswasinfactArthurDunbar.WithErnesto’shelpweobtainedacopyofthe

deathcertificateandresolvedtovisitColmenarViejotofindthecemeterywhereArthurhadbeenlaidtorest.WearrangedwithErnestotomakethevisiton

25May2012.PriortoleavingImadecontactwithIBMTSecretaryJimJump,whoputusintouchwithMadrid-basedIBMTmemberJustinByrne.

ToColmenarViejoJustinreadilyofferedtohelpinanywayandwedulymethiminMadridonthemorningof25MayandtogethermadeourwaytoBrunetetomeetupwithErnesto.Fromthere,thehour-longdrivetoColmenarViejowaspossiblytheroutethatUncleArthurwouldalsohavetaken.Themilitaryhospitalwashousedinaschool

thathadbeentemporarilyrequisitionedbytheRepublicangovernment.Weweresurprisedto

AnniversaryofsinkingThe75thanniversaryofthesinkingoftheCiudaddeBarcelona,whichtookthelivesofmorethan60ofthe500InternationalBrigadevolunteersonboard,wasmarkedataceremonyorganisedbythelocaltowncouncil,MemorialDemocràtic,andBarcelona-basedIBMTmemberAlanWarrenatMalgratdeMar,northofBarcelona,on30May.Thiswas75yearstothedaysincethepassengershipwastorpedoedbyanItaliansubmarinewhileonitswayfromMarseillestoBarcelona.ThreefamilymembersofBritishvolunteers

whosurvivedtheattack,MarkNewmanandLiamBarber,sonsofDavidNewmanandRonaldBarber,andWendyDavies,nieceofSidneyShosteck, ledthepartyonboardaboatthatwenttothesiteofthewreck,whereflowerswerestrewninthewater.

BannerbrightinDurham

CivilwararchivesgoonlineWarwickUniversity’sModernRecordsCentrehaslauncheditsextensiveonlineSpanishCivilWararchive.Thisfollowsayear-longdigitisationproj-ectthathasmademorethan4,000documents–andover13,000pages–ofarchivesfreelyaccesi-bletoresearchersandthegeneralpublic.MuchofthematerialcomesfromtheTUC,but

therearealsomorethan100mostlyrevolution-arysocialistoranarchistpublicationsfromothercollections.ThefilescovertopicsincludingtheInternationalBrigades,theresponseofBritishandinternationaltradeunionmovementandtheAidSpaineffort inBritain.Fulltranscriptionsaregivenforalldocuments,

allowingkeywordsearches.Backgroundinfor-mation,suchasatimelineandmaps,hasalsobeenincludedtoassist inunderstandingthecon-textofthedocuments.

Visit[www.warwick.ac.uk/go/scw].


FEATURES

FindingUncleArthur

IBMTmembersNeilWilkinson (left) andKeithClosecarry the IBMTbanner throughDurhamduring thecity’sannualMiners’Galaon14 July.

Continued overleaf

TorpedoedbyanItaliansubmarine.

Carol Ellis (left) lays flowersat thememorial toallthose inunmarkedgraves in thecemeteryofColmenarViejowhereArthurDunbarwasburied.

“WefeltsomuchprideatwhatthosebraveBrigadersweretheretodoandyetsadnessforthelossoflives.Wefeltasifwewerewalkingonsacredground.”

begreetedattheschool–nowtheSoledadSainzschool–byagroupconsistingoflocalhistoriansandrepresentativesoftheAABISpanishassocia-tionoffriendsoftheInternationalBrigades.Weweretakenonatourofthebuilding–the

childrenwereonaschooloutingthatday.NextwewereshownaroundthetowncemeteryandtheunmarkedcommongravewhereArthurwould

havebeenburied.Itwasanenclosedopenspaceatthebackofthecemetery,wherepeoplewithnofamilyornamewerelaidtorest.Theareahadrecentlybeenconcretedoverandtherewasasolitaryheadstoneinthecentrewiththeinscrip-tion“Inmemoryofallwhorestinthisplace”.ThiswouldhavebeentheplacethatUncle

Arthurwasburied,alongwithfellowmilitaryper-sonnelwhohadbeentreatedanddiedatthehos-pital.Emotionsranhigh,notjustforArthurbutforallthosethatwerelaidtoresthere:Spanish,Britishandnodoubtothernationalities.

Thoughtherearenonamesordatesmen-tioned,ourfeelingsasafamilywerepositive.ArthurhadbeenlaidtorestwithsomeoftheverypeoplehehadgonetoSpainwithtohelpfightinSpain’shourofneed.Hewasingoodcompany.Onedayitmaybepossiblethatwewillseethe

namesofallwholiethereandIhopethatIamstillaroundtobeabletoaddthename:“ArthurEdwardDunbar,born14July1906,London,England;died14July1937;forSpain.”Wefoundyouatlast,UncleArthur,andnowwe

haveclosureonachapterinourfamily’shistory.


FEATURES

Fromprevious page

ByDavidMargolies

ChristopherCaudwell’simage,ratherlikethatofJohnCornford,hasaromanticaspect.Hewasonly29whenhediedatJaramaon

12February1937;hetoowasapoetandhisdeathwasanoblesacrifice.Cornfordwasalreadyapub-licfigureontheleftatthetimeofhisdeath,butCaudwellwaspracticallyunknown.Yet,withinsixmonths,hewasrecognisedashavingmadeasig-nificantcontributiontoMarxismwiththepublica-tionofhismostimportantwork,“IllusionandReality”.NothinginCaudwell’sbackgroundsuggests

thathewaslikelytobecomeaMarxist,letaloneamajorMarxisttheorist.HewasbornChristopherStJohnSpriggon20October1907inLondonintoabourgeoisfamily.HewassenttoaCatholicpublicschoolbutleftbeforehewas15;hemovedwithhiswidowedfather,whohadtakenajobontheYorkshireObserver,toBradford.Christopherbecameacubreporter.In1925hereturnedtoLondontoworkwithhis

olderbrother,whoeditedAirways,thefirstaero-nauticalmonthly.ForabriefperiodheeditedthejournaloftheAssociationforBritishMalaya,whichdealtwiththedevelopmentofrubberandtinmar-kets.Hewrotefivebooksonflying.Inthesameperiod,hewrotesevencrimenovels,whichwerehighlysuccessful,andeditedacrimeanthology;andhewrotetheoneworkthatwaspublishedinhislifetimeunderthepseudonymofCaudwell,a“serious”novel,“ThisMyHand”(1936).Hecontin-uedtowritepoetry.Theinterestingquestionishowhecameto

Marxismandcommunism;everythingseemedagainstsuchadevelopment.Ofhiscrimenovelsonlyoneisexplicitlypolitical(themurderofarightwing,warmongeringpressbaron)buttheyallshowattitudesthatareanti-colonial,anti-racistandanti-sexist.Hisexperienceofthepoliti-calrealitiesofthemid-1930s–theriseoffascism,thecommercialfailureofhisbrother’spublishingfirm,thebusinesssideofcolonialismandsocialinjustice–madeitcleartohimthattheworldwasinaprettybadstate.InMarxismhefoundaunify-ingtheory. Itnotonlyprovidedtheframeworkforunderstandingthechangesinsocietybutitalsorecognisedthefundamental importanceofmate-rialconditions,whichsuitedhisengineeringside,

hisinterestinhowthingsworkinpractice.Caudwell’schoiceofmaterialonwhichtoapply

hisMarxism–poetryandscience–issomewhatsurprising,eventhoughtheseareashadlongbeenofpersonalinteresttohim.HewentofftoCornwallandworkedataterrificrate,writingupto5,000wordsaday,revisingahugemanuscript,mostofwhichbecame“IllusionandReality”,whilemuchoftheremainderprovidedthebasisfortheessayssubsequentlypublishedas“StudiesinaDyingCulture”(1938),“TheCrisisinPhysics”(1939)and“FurtherStudiesinaDyingCulture”(1949).Caudwellseespoetryasservingtheneedsof

society,organisingemotionsinreadersthataffecttheirbehaviourintherealworld;poetry,likeallartgenerally,contributestooureffectivenessinaction,lettingusseemoreclearlywhatitisthatwewant.Poetry,saysCaudwell, isaguidetoaction,

andthusittakesitsplaceintheMarxistprojectofchang-ingtheworld.Intheyearsimmediately

aftertheSecondWorldWarCaudwell’sworkswereverypopularinBritainandtheUS.Hisreadershipwentwellbeyondthelefttoincludelib-eralsandevenpeoplewhowerenotespeciallypolitical.Inthe1950s,however,hispopularitydeclined.ThiscanbepartlyattributedtoMcCarthyism.IntheBritishCommunist

Partyitself,Caudwellsuf-feredadifferentnegativefate.In1949-50,inThe

ModernQuarterly,thetheoreticaljournaloftheparty,therewasaseriesofarticlesreferredtoas“TheCaudwellDiscussion”wherehewasattackedbythetheoreticalbiggunsoftheparty,thoughalsodefendedbyothers.TherealreasonfortheattackisindicatedbyJDBernal’ssayingthatCaudwellisledastraybytheinfluenceof“Freudandthegeneticists”.Caudwellwasexplicitthatthereisadialecticalrelationbetweengeneticinheritanceandtheenvironment.Hisviewcontra-dictedthepositionoftheSovietagronomistTrofimLysenko,whoclaimedthatgeneticswasreac-tionarynonsense.Althoughhewaslaterdis-graced,StalinbackedLysenkoin1948,withtheresultthatgeneticswasbannedintheSovietUnionandLysenko’sviewsbecamegospelformostcommunistparties.ItwasunderthissorrypolicythatCaudwellwasattacked.Losingsupportfrombothrightandleftmeant

thathefelloutofprominenceand“IllusionandReality”,whichwasneveroutofprintfornearly60years,wasforthefirsttimeunavailableattheturnofthecentury.Buttoday,inthisperiodofpoliticalandeco-

nomicupheaval,thereisagrowingawarenessoftheclassnatureofourproblems.Caudwellhasalwaysbeenworthreading,butnowheisagainstrikinglyrelevantandvaluable.

DavidMargoliesisEmeritusProfessorofEnglishatGoldsmithsCollege,UniversityofLondon.

FindingUncleArthur

ChristopherCaudwell:riseandfallofaMarxisttheorist

ChristopherCaudwell(farright)inDecember1936withothervolunteersabouttosetoffinafleetofambulancesforSpain.CaudwelljoinedtheBritishBattalionandwaskilledduringtheBattleofJaramaalongwithClemBeckettwhilethetwoofthemcoveredthebattalion’sretreatwiththeirmachine-gun.

“Caudwell’schoiceofthematerialonwhichtoapplyhisMarxism–poetryandscience–issomewhatsurprising,eventhoughtheseareashadlongbeenofpersonal interesttohim”

HarryRansom

Hum

anitiesResearchCenter


LETTERS

ThanksfortheParisplaqueinformation

Thankyouforyour interestingandinforma-tive IBMTNewsletter. Inoneofyour recenteditionsyouprintedastory headed

“PlaquemarksParis recruitingcentre”. I clippeditoutandsaveditbecausemyuncle,MauriceFriedman,went toSpain in1937fromSanFrancisco,California (hedied inApril 1938nearGandesa intheGreatRetreat).His routetoSpaintookhimthroughParisandhewouldhavealmostcertainlybeenprocessedat thisrecruitingcentre.Whenwewere inParis inMaywevisitedthesiteof theplaque,whichwaseasyto findwiththeaddressgiven. It isalwaysamovingexperienceto findthat thesememoriesarekeptalive.I readthatyouarecarryingoutanauditof IB

memorials.Youprobably justmeanmemorialsin theUKbut just incaseyouare including inter-nationalonestoo,here isaphotoof thememo-rial inSanFranciscothatwevisited lastyear. It islocatedopposite theFerryBuildingontheEmbarcadero.Thisobviouslyhasaveryper-sonalconnectionformebut I thinkother read-erswillbe interestedtosee it if theyareever inthevicinity.Also, Iwonder if readerswouldbe interested

tovisit theMuséedelaRésistanceNationale[www.musee-resistance.com]. It is inChampigny-sur-Marne,which isasuburbof

Paris,andcanbereachedvia theRERAtrainandthe208bus. It isabitoutof thewaybutwellworththetrip,withexcellentexhibitsofnews-papers, leafletsandbroadsheetsproducedbytheresistancemovement.Thedisplaysareall inFrenchbut itwasnotdifficult toworkoutwhattheyareaboutwiththeminimalFrenchthatwehave.Themuseumhasaplaqueoutsidewhich

dedicates themuseumto the9,000Frenchanti-fascist volunteerswho fought inSpainfrom1936 to 1939.Colleen & Sam DarbyByemail

MisplacedmemorialinHungary

Ispentaweek inBudapestandVienna in Julyandduringthestay inBudapestwent toMementoPark,a45-minutetramandbusrideoutsidetown,whichclaimstocontain“thebiggeststatuesof thedarkestdictatorship”.This isbasicallyacollectionofstatuesandmemorials fromtheStalinistyears.Buthey,what’s this?Amemorial to the

InternationalBrigadeswhofought in theSpanishCivilWar.At first Iwascheeredtoseethememorial.ThenI thought:what is itdoingstuck inaremotefieldwithawidearrayofStalinist/communiststatuesandmemorialssalvagedfromthepostwarera?Thisshouldbeinthecentreof thecity.Despite its location itwasgoodtoseethe

memorialandworththevisit.Mike DavisByemail

PatienceDarton’shusband

Inyour lastsplendid issue(Spring-Summer2012),RichardBaxell’s reviewofAngelaJackson’sbiographyofPatienceDartonexplainshowPatiencefell in loveandmarriedanun-namedGermanInternationalBrigader.Themaninquestionwas in factRobert

Aquist,whowaspartof thePalestinian Jewishgroupofbetween350-500whocamefromBritishPalestineto fightFranco.Hemayhavebeenborn inGermanybut thearchivesat the

MarxMemorialLibrarymake itclear thathehademigratedtoPalestine inthe1920sandwasaPalestinian Jewish(nowIsraeli) citizenof theBritishMandateandwouldhavemadehiswaytoSpainwithhis fellowJewsusingabordeaux-colouredBritish-stylepassport thatMandatecitizenswere issuedwith.In fact the largestgroupof International

Brigadefighters thatwent toSpain–measuredperheadofpopulation–werePalestinian Jews.Martin SugarmanAssociationof JewishEx-ServicemenandWomen

TenyearsoftheIBMT

Justnoticedthat the IBMTwasfoundedin2002.Thewidthandrichnessofyourpro-grammeandparticipants is remarkable.Andtherangeofallyou’veorganisedforustosharethroughout theworld isespeciallymeaningful.Welldoneandthanks.

Louanne and ChrisTranchellByemail

TheEditorwrites:Yes, technicallywewerefoundedon5October2002,whenourconstitutionwasapprovedbytheIBMT’sfirstAnnualGeneralMeeting.However,itwasin2001thatveteransintheInternationalBrigadeAssociationandmembersoftheFriendsoftheInternationalBrigadedecidedtosetupajointorganisation,somaybewe’re11yearsold!

Fantasticwebsite

I’dliketotakethisopportunitytothankyourself,yourcharityanditswonderfulwebsite[www.international-brigades.org.uk]! IthasproventobeafantasticresourceforameetingIgavetomylocalSocialistWorkersPartybranchinGravesend,Kent,ontheroleoftheBritishandIrish(ofwhommygrandadwasone)volunteersofthe15thInternationalBrigade.Thiswouldbeennearimpossiblewithoutyourwebsite’sclearandconciseinformation.Thankyouforopeningupawholenewarea

ofhistory tomepersonally. I shallbe lookinginto joining.Liam HammockByemail

BUDAPEST:MikeDavisattheInternationalBrigadememorialinMementoPark.Seehisletter“MisplacedmemorialinHungary”.

PLAQUE: InternationalBrigadevolunteersareremem-beredoutsidetheParisMuseumoftheResistance.

SANFRANCISCO:ColleenandSamDarbyatthememorialtotheUSvolunteers.Seetheirlet-ter“ThanksfortheParisplaqueinformation”.


TurningpointforanEnglishrevolutionary“TheLastEnglishRevolutionary:TomWintringham,1898-1949”byHughPurcellwithPhyllSmith(SussexAcademicPress,Eastbourne,2012)£22.50

ReviewedbyJimJump

Ifeveranunsung20thcenturyherodeservedafull-lengthbiogra-

phy,itmustbeTomWintringham.Hiswasashortbutoutstandinglife:foundermemberoftheCommunistPartywhowasjailedforsedi-tionin1925;oneofthefirstvolunteerstoarrive

inSpain,wherehecommandedtheBritishBattalionattheBattleofJarama;afinepoetandjournalist,whoseDailyMirrorcolumnonmilitarystrategyreachedmillionsofreaders;veteranoftheFirstWorldWarwhowastheinstigatoroftheHomeGuardatthestartoftheSecondWorldWar;andfounderoftheradicalCommonWealthPartythatattracted100,000votesinthe1945generalelection.Remarkably,heachievedallthisinalifespanofonly51years.OfcourseWintringhamisnotacomplete

unknown.MorepeoplenowknowaboutthemanthankstotheexcellenteffortsofauthorHughPurcell.His2004biographyledtoradioandTVprogrammesandhasnowbeenenlarged,revisedandupdatedwithhelpfromWintringhamenthu-siastPhyllSmith,librarianintheircommonhometownofGrimsby.Wintringham’stimeinSpainwasaturningpoint

forhim,bothpoliticallyandemotionally,asthisexpandedbiographycarefullyrecounts.HearrivedinAugust1936,afewweeksafterthestartofthemilitaryuprising,asatrustedemissaryofCommunistPartyGeneralSecretaryHarryPollitt.InSeptember1936hehelpedroundupotherearlyBritishvolunteersinBarcelonaunderthebanneroftheTomMannCenturia.TheresultingfamousphotographtakenoutsidetheLeninBarracks,withTomkneelingontheleftofthepic-ture,isonthecoveroftheupdatedbiography.AtJaramainFebruary1937hewasthecommanderofthenewlyformedBritishBattalionandwasinjuredontheseconddayofbattle–thesamethinghappenedatQuintoinAugust1937duringtheRepublic’sAragonoffensive.Jaramawasabaptisminbloodforthebattalion.

Morethan120volunteersdied,andasmanywereseriouslywounded.TheDailyMail, intime-hon-ouredfashion,fictitiouslyembellisheditsreportbyclaimingthatthosewhodidnotwanttofight

BOOKS

Passionateaboutthewar

Memoryandloverecovered

“AWorldBetweenUs”byLydiaSyson(HotKeyBooks,London,2012)£6.99

A imedatyoungadults,LydiaSyson’snovelisa

lovestorycentredontheSpanishCivilWar.TheactionbeginsattheBattleofCableStreet,whereFelix,anursewhohastakenawrongturningon

herwayhomefromwork,meetsNat,ayoungJewishcommunistfromtheEastEnd.Theyfallinlove.Nat’spassionfortheRepublicancauseinSpainleadshimtojointheInternationalBrigades.ThisleavesadeepimpressiononthenaïvebutadventurousFelix,andtheirpathscrossagaininSpain.

ThenovelassumeslittleknowledgeofthecivilwaronthepartofthereaderandSysonskillfullytiesmanyofthecorethemesandeventsofthewarintotheromanticplotline.Thereareinsightsintotherolesofnurse,reporterandInternationalBrigader–thethreemaincharactersofthenovel–alongsideatmosphericdescriptionsoftraining,battleandmedicalcare.WelearnaboutBritain’spol-icyofnon-intervention,aswellasthepartplayedbythepressinshapingpublicopinion.

Syson’sbookshiesawayfromstereotypicaldescriptionsofSpainandSpaniards;nomen-tionhereoffierytempersandflamenco.Insteadsomeofthehistoricallysignificantfea-turesofthecivilwarareaddressed.WitnessedatfirsthandisthebombingofGuernica,thefirsttimeciviliansinEuropeweretargetedinanaerialattack.Thewidespreaduseofbloodtransfusionsatbattlefieldhospitals,oneofthemedicaladvancesmadeduringthewar, isalsoexploredasthenarrativeunfolds.

Alongwiththeprintedpaperbackedition,publishersHotKeyBooksarebringingoutanenhancediBook(availablefromtheAppleiBookstore)providingevenmorebackgroundinformationabouttheSpanishCivilWar.Thehistoryofthetimeisbroughttolifewitharchiveimages,audiointerviews,musicandvideosputtogetherbySysonwithhelpfromhistorianRichardBaxell.SomeofthearchivecontentissourcedfromtheIBMT.

Thankfully,however,thetextofthenovelisneverover-burdenedwithhistoricalcontext,andthefocusofthenarrativestaysfirmlyonFelixandthetwomeninherlife.Withkeyquestionsunanswereduntilthefinalchapters,thereaderiskeptengagedwiththefateofourstrongandpassionateheroine.

“AWorldBetweenUs”ispublishedon4October2012.

“ThePerfumeGarden”byKateLordBrown(Corvus,London,2012)£14.99

Exploringtiesbetweengenerationsofwomenandtrack-

ingtheirlostlovesandfamilyfortunes,thisisawell-researchedromanticnovelthatreachesbacktotheSpanishCivilWarandtheharshpostwaryears.

Thestorycentresonpregnantbusiness-womanEmmaTemple.In2001shestartsherlifeafreshandmovestoSpaintoliveinthehouseofherrecentlydeceasedmother.Asshegetstoknowthelocalsandworksherwaythroughaseriesoflettersleftbyhermother,sheuncoversthegrippingtaleofhergrand-mother’stimeasavolunteernurseinthecivilwar.Thenarrativeskipsaboutintime,alsofocusingontheexploitsofhergreatuncle,wholeftCambridgeUniversitytojointheInternationalBrigades.

AuthorKateLordBrowncombinesanevocative,ifattimesvergingonclichéd,descriptionofSpain,completewithgypsies,fiestasandorangegroves,withaninformedandsympatheticaccountofthecivilwar.ThemessuchasthebombingofGuernica,theevacuationoftheBasquechildrenandtheFrancoistrepression,particularlytheabuseofwomen,arealladdressed.

Wemeetfamiliarheroes,includingRobertCapa,GerdaTaroandLaPasionaria.The IBMTNewsletter itselfevengetsamention!Brownonlydropstheballwithanawkwardattempttodrawcomparisonsbetweentheterroristattacksof11September2001andthecivilwar,butthisanachronismdoesnotworkitswayintotherestofthetext.

Wellwortharead,thenovelisparticularlystrongonthemovementfortherecoveryofhistoricalmemory.Notonlyarebonessym-bolicallyuncoveredinTemple’sgardeninSpain,butherunearthingofherfamily’shis-torymirrorsSpain’sattemptstocometotermswithitsownrecentpast.

MEIRIANJUMPreviewstwonewnovelssetagainstthebackdropoftheSpanishCivilWar,bothofthemfeaturingInternationalBrigaders.

“werelinedupandshot;theremainderlikecattleweredriventoslaughter…commandedbyanEnglishmancalledWintringham”.AuthorsPurcellandSmithspeculatethat

WintringhammayhavehadamoreimportantroleintheformationoftheInternationalBrigadesthemselves.EvenbeforeleavingforSpaininAugust1936hewascallingforan“internationallegion”todefendtheRepublic.HadthisproposalfilteredthroughtoCominternchiefsattheendofSeptemberwhentheyurgedCommunistPartiesaroundtheworldtosendvolunteerstoSpain?Bytheendofthewar,however,Wintringham’s

relationswiththeCommunistPartyhadbeentransformed.Hewasexpelledfromthepartyin1938forhisloveaffairwithAmericanjournalistandsuspectedTrotskyistspyinSpain,KittyBowler.“Icansmell’em,”PollitthadwarnedWintringham.TomandKittymarriedin1941,soonafterWintringhamwasdivorcedbyhisfirstwifefollowingaseriesofinfidelitiesonhispart.Thoughheneverpubliclydenouncedthe

CommunistParty,hisbreakwithhisformercom-radeswassealedin1939soonafterthedefeatoftheRepublic,whenheopposedtheSoviet-dic-tatedlineagainsttheSecondWorldWar.Itwas,hedeclared,“disastrous,wrong,non-Marxist,con-tarytotheinterestsoftheworkingclassandoftherevolution”.Instead,hethrewhimselfintothewareffortandwasthedrivingforcebehindthecre-ationoftheHomeGuard,headquarteredatOsterleyParkinwestLondon.Buthisclearpoliticalintentincreatingaguerilla

people’sarmythatwouldtargetfifthcolumnistsandNazicollaboratorsterrifiedtheauthorities.“IrefusetobeWintringhamed,”saidanexasper-atedWinstonChurchill.TheWarOfficedulyeasedWintringhamandotherInternationalBrigadersoutofpositionsofcommandatOsterleyPark.Wintringhamhadbythistimebefriended

GeorgeOrwell,whopraisedhimin1940as“anotablevoiceinstemmingthetideofdefeatism”.Indeed,intheirconsistentlyengagingbiography,PurcellandSmithdrawparallelsbetweenthetwoveteransofthewarinSpain.Bothwerepublicschool-educatedboyswhobecamepoliticalradi-cals.And,likeJBPriestley,theywere“revolution-arypatriots”,whoindifferentwaysbrokefreefromthepowerfulgripthattheCommunistPartyheldontheleftinthe1930sandtriedinsteadtodefineaveryBritishformofsocialism.

UpdatedstudyoftheWelshminersinSpainMinersAgainstFascismbyHywelFrancis(Lawrence&Wishart,London,2012)£18.99

ReviewedbyJimJump

ThisisthethirdeditionofHywelFrancis’sclassicstudyoftheSouthWalesminers

whojoinedtheInternationalBrigades.Asausefulmapinthebookillustrates,allbut32ofthe

174Welshvolunteerswhowereidentifiedintheoriginal1984editioncamefromtheSouthWalescoalfield.ThattotalfromWaleshasnowrisento206volunteers,thoughthisincludes17whoeithertriedtoenlist intheInternationalBrigadesbutwerearrestedonrouteorwhowereturnedawayformedicalreasons.Welshminersthereforemadeuponeofthe

largestcontingentswithintheBritishBattalion.Thirty-threeofthemwerekilledinSpain,allbutoneonthebattlefieldorfromwoundssustainedinaction,TheexceptionwastheboxerTomPicton,aged52,fromTreherbert,whowasexe-cutedasaprisoner-of-warin1938.HywelFrancisvividlytellstheirstory,threading

biographiesofthevolunteersintothestoryofthewarinSpain.FundamentaltohisstudyistheindustrialandpoliticalbackgroundintheWelshvalleys,fromtheminers’defeatinthepitstrikeof1926-27tothehungermarchesandanti-fasciststrugglesofthe1930s.Theimportant,though

notexclusive,roleoftheCommunistPartyinthesedevelopmentsandamongtheBrigadersisclearlyexplained.Whatstillstrikesthereaderisthedetermina-

tionandbraveryofsomanyofthevolunteers.Theycometolifeinasectionofthebookfeatur-inglettershome.“MostofourfightinghasbeenagainstGermanandItaliantrainedtroopswithsuperiorarmstoourselves,”wroteBobCondonofAberamaninApril1937,“butwepossessedsomethingtheydidnot,andwithalltheirbomb-ingofwomenandchildrenandusingofdum-dumandexplosivebulletsagainstus,theycan-notpassorbreakourmorale.”Thereishumourtoo–withakickinthetail.

“DidItellyouinmylastletterthatwegotochurchtwiceaday?”askedJimBrewer,ofRhymney,inalettertohisparentsinMay1937.“Weeatthere.Lastsummerthechiefpriestfiredonthepeoplewithamachinegunandkilledthirty.That’sthesortofatrocityyouneverhearofinEngland(sic).”AswellasamorecomprehensivelistofWelsh

volunteers,HywelFrancis–LabourMPforAberavonsince2001–hasaddedanewbibliog-raphyandathirdpreface,joiningthe1984and2004prefacesthatarealsoreproduced.Thelat-estprefacegivesthreemainjustificationsforupdatingthebook:theemergenceofnewsourcesofinformation,theneedtocounter“his-toriographicalandfactuallyimpressionisticissues”raisedintheworkofanotherhistorianoftheWelshvolunteers,RobertStradling,andtherenewedinterestinthesacrificesmadebythesemenandwomenfromWales.


Novelist,poetandjournalistSylviaTownsend

Warner(1893-1978)wasastrongsupporteroftheSpanishRepublic,writesJimJump.ShevisitedSpaintwiceduringthecivilwar,firstasavolun-teerwiththeBritish

MedicalUnit in1936,theninthefollowingyearasadelegatetoaninternationalcongressofwriters.Onbothoccasionsshewasaccompa-niedbyfellowpoetandwriterValentineAckland,hercompanionfornearly40years.

“BeingalesbianandaCommunistcertainlydidn’tendearWarnertotheestablishmentortheliterarycanon-mongers,”wroteClaireHarmaninher1991biography.However,asthisnewanthology*suggests,Warner’slifelonglit-eraryandjournalisticoutputwaspowerful,extensiveandvoluminous.It includeseightarticlesbasedonhervisitstoSpain.Exceptforonepreviouslyunpublishedpiece,allappearedoriginallyinmagazinessuchasLeftReview,NewStatesman,NewYorkerandTimeandTide.

Theyrangefrompolitically-chargedreportage

suchas“Harvestin1937”(“thefirstharvestthesepeasantshaveeverreapedforthem-selves”)tosketchesofSpaniards–andoneSwissInternationalBrigaderwhohadwalkedtoSpain–involvedintheanti-fascistfight.

AlsofeaturedisalivelyportraitofNancyCunard,anotherwriterwhowasindeliblyscarredbythewarinSpain.“Eachofussome-timesfoundtheotherexasperating,”Warnerwrotein1968,“butwesaweyetoeyeaboutSpain.”

Ina1975interviewpublishedposthumouslyinPoetryNowReview,WarnerrecalledthewarandherenduringattachmenttothecauseoftheSpanishRepublic:“…theEnglishauthori-tiesandrespectableswereclampingdownonfreelancejournalistswhohadanythingtosayinfavouroftheRepublic. Ihadagreatdealtosay.IneveragainsawacountryI lovedasmuchasIlovedSpain.Amostungainlycountrytolove,butit isextraordinarilybeautiful. I’veneverbeenback–IsaidIwouldn’tgobacktillFrancowasdeadandtheoldbruteisstillhangingon.”

*“WiththeHunted:SelectedWritings”bySylviaTownsendWarner,editedbyPeterTolhurst (BlackDogBooks,Norwich,2012)£16.99.

MuchtosayinfavouroftheRepublic

AgroupofWelshvolunteers in1937.


BOOKS MIXEDMEDIAHisfinesthour“JulianBell:FromBloomsburytotheSpanishCivilWar”byPeterStanskyandWilliamAbrahams(StanfordUniversityPress,PaloAlto,2011)£23.45

ReviewedbyCharlieOberndorf

In1966,PeterStanskyandWilliamAbrahamspub-lished“Journeytothe

Frontier”,whichfollowedthelivesoftwoyoungpoetsfromfamilieswithstrongintellec-tualandartisticbackgrounds,

bothofwhomdiedintheSpanishCivilWar.JohnCornfordwenttoCambridge,joinedtheCommunistParty,wrotecommittedpoetryandrecruitedforandenlistedintheInternationalBrigades.JulianBellwenttoCambridge,wrotesomegoodnaturepoetryandfollowedaroadtoSpainafteranumberoftellingdetours.Inthepastfourdecades,newinformation

aboutBellhascometolight,someofitpersonaldetailsthatfriendswerelesslikelytoshareinthemid-1960swhenasenseofdecorumandprivacywereastrongpartofBritishintellectualculture.Now,Stansky(Abrahamsdiedin1998)hasexpandedthesectionsaboutBelltopro-duceafull-scalebiographyofthatyoungman.BellwasthesonofpainterVanessaBelland

nephewofVirginiaWoolf. Inasense,hewasachildofBloomsbury,thatgroupofartiststhatchartedanewaestheticawayfromEdwardiantradition.AtKing’sCollege,Cambridge,heseemedtolosehisway.AfterabriefaffairwithAnthonyBlunt(wholaterbecameaSovietspy),Julianfell inloveseveraltimes;inallhisaffairs,hewroteopenlyandhonestlytohismotherabouthisrelationships.Bellmetwithsomesuccessasapoet,produc-

ingtwobooks,buthehadtroubleshapingamanuscriptthatwouldearnhimafellowship.Tryingtofindanewdirection,hetookapositioninChinatoteachEnglishliterature,andtherehefell inlovewithhisdean’swife.Asthe1930sprogressed,sodidBell’spolitical

commitmentsand,whenhehadtoleaveChinabecauseofhisaffair,hedecidedtojointheInternationalBrigades.Therewasenormouspressurefromhisfamilynottogo.Asacompro-mise,Julianagreedtodriveanambulanceratherthanenlistasasoldier.StanskyandAbrahamsdoafinejobof

excerptingpoems,lettersandessaystogiveasenseofBell’sthinking.Attimes,weseehimsocloselythatwedon’tgetasenseofhischarisma.Themostpersonalsectionsofthebookarethe

mostriveting.Theauthorsdoafinejobofcatch-ingthewayhisaffairsstartasgreatpassionateencounters,andthenherethinksthem.Inthebackgroundheisalwaysconcernedastohowhismotherwillrespondtothewomaninhislife.ThechapteronChina,fulloffreshinformation,isparticularlyrich,andthefinalchapteronBellinSpainisstrongestwhencapturingthatparticu-

lartensionmanywhowenttoSpainmusthavefeltwhendecidingiftheyshouldjointhefray.BellseemstobeathisfinestwheninSpain.

Wedon’tseethesameconfusedyoungmanwhoseemedtoseekoutloveaffairsasawaytogivehislifedirection.Wefindsomeonewhobecomesthehallmarkofdedication.SoitcomesasasurprisewhenStanskywrites:“Hisdeathwasaterriblewaste.”Thisisverydiffer-entfromtheendoftheoriginalbook,“JourneytotheFrontier”,whenthetwowritersmergeJulian’sdeathwiththedeathsallthosewhohadfoughtfortheSpanishRepublic.

CharlesOberndorfisworkingonabiographicalnovelaboutUSInternationalBrigaderAbeOsheroff.

Driventowar“LoveandRevolutionaryGreetings:AnOhioBoyintheSpanishCivilWar”byLaurieELevinger(ResourcePublications,Eugene,2012)$21

ReviewedbyLindaPalfreeman

Nineteen-year-oldSamLevingerwasoneofthe2,800Americans

whoenlistedintheInternationalBrigadesduringtheSpanishCivilWarinanattempttohaltthesickeningspreadoffascismthatwas

sweepingthroughEuropeduringthe1930s.WhencivilwarbrokeoutinSpainin1936,LevingerwasanundergraduateatOhioStateUniversityinColumbus.Thefollowingyear,thecommittedyoungsocialistdiedfightingfascisminSpainasamemberoftheAbrahamLincolnBattalionofvolunteersfromtheUS.“LoveandRevolutionaryGreetings:AnOhio

Boy intheSpanishCivilWar” isSam’sstory.Themovingnarrative isbasedonthe letters,poemsandstories thathesenthomefromSpainandthe lettersofhismother,Elma–beautifullywoventogetherbytheauthorLaurieELevinger,Sam’sniece.Aswellasofferingusan insight intothe

intenseandoftentraumaticcircumstanceoftheyoungsoldier, thebookreveals thecondi-tionsofpolitical insecurityandprivationtowhicha largepartofAmericansocietywassubjectduringtheyearsof theDepression.Theywereconditionswhichultimatelydrovethissensitiveandsociallycommittedyoungmanto joinwithothermenandwomenfromallover theworld in thedefenceofdemocracyinSpain.Sam’sstory, thoughtragic,betraysnohint

of sentimentalityor lyricism.Hewasagiftedyoungwriterwithawrysenseofhumourand,whilst chargedwithemotion, theproseisunfussyandhonest–andcompelling.“LoveandRevolutionaryGreetings” isoneofthoseapparentlymodest littlebooksbetweenwhosecoverswediscovera taleoftruemagnitude.

�FolkduoNa-mara(RobGarciaandPaulMcNamara)havereleasedanEP-CDfea-turingfoursongsinspiredbytheSpanishCivilWarandtheInternationalBrigades.“TheBite”is

anewrecordingoftheirsongbasedonthestoryofBrigaderGeorgeWheeler.“EnglishPenny”isaboutnursePennyFeiwel.“TheSilverDuro”and“OnlyForThreeMonths”,anothernewrecording,tellthestoryoftheSpanishBasquerefugeechil-drenwhocametoBritainin1937,oneofwhomwouldbecomeRob’sfather.“SongsoftheSpanishCivilWar”isavailablefor£5plusp&pfrom[www.na-mara.com].

�RadioNewZealandhasmadedocumentariesabouttwoInternationalBrigadevolunteersavail-ableaspodcasts.Inthefirst,recordedin1984,TomSpillerrecallshismotivesforjoiningthefightinSpain(52mins).In“ANurse’sStory”,IsobelMaguiredescribesherexperiencesduringthecivilwar(23mins).Goto:[www.radionz.co.nz/national/documentaries/spanishcivilwar].

�Glasgow-basedCelticfolk-rockbandTheWakeshaverecorded“JaramaValley”fortheirnewalbum“TheStrippedBackSessionsVol.1”.TheCDcanbeorderedfrom

[www.thewakesband.com].

�ViewableonlineisaCanadiandocumentary,“LostGravesoftheInternationalBrigades”,byNormChristiefeaturingCanadianInternationalBrigadevolunteerJulesPaiviorevisitingthebat-tlefieldsoftheSpanishCivilWarandtheSanPedrodeCardeñaprison.See[http://wn.com/Battlefield_Mysteries__Spanish_Civil_War].

�“DoonThroughTheYears”(FairPleyB0079X6SNO)isthelatestreleasebyScottishpoliti-calfolksingerArthurJohnstoneandtheStarsBand.TheCDfeaturesa

versionof“JaramaValley”inamedleywith“BandieraRossa”.

�Theoutofprint“TheGuardianBookoftheSpanishCivilWar”,whichbringstogetherthecontemporaryreportsbycorrespondentsinthethenManchesterGuardian, isnowavailableasaPDF,IBMTmemberGeoffLaweshaswrittenintoreport.Originallypublishedin1987andeditedbyRobertHaigh,the332-pagebookhasbeenpostedonlinebytheSaginawValleyStateUniversityinMichigan.Goto[www6.svsu.edu/~jalewis2/Spain/Manchester%20Guardian%20Spanish%20Civil%20War.pdf].

Limited edition 75th anniversaryplateA limited edition of 75 platesmade intheUK from finest bone china. Eachplate has a copyof themedal given toInternational Brigademembers andall the battles are listed. Plates areindividually numbered on the reverse(101⁄2 inches or 26cmswide).£30plus £4.99p&p.

JaramaValley / Brigadista RepriseCDsingleExclusively for the IBMT, Billy Braggperforms the famous song of theBritish Battalion andMaxine Peakedelivers La Pasionaria’s emotionalfarewell speech to the InternationalBrigadeswith a dubbacking fromTheUrbanRoots.£5 plus £1.99 p&p

AntifascistasBritish and IrishVolunteers intheSpanish CivilWarThe story of the volunteers inwordsandpictures, byRichardBaxell,Angela Jackson and Jim Jump(paperback).£10 plus £2.99p&p

Poems fromSpainCollection of poemswritten byBritishand Irish International Brigaders.Edited by Jim Jump (paperback).£10 plus £2.99p&p

Salud!British volunteers in the Republicanmedical service during the SpanishCivil Warby Linda Palfreeman (paperback).£17 plus £3.99p&p

LookingBackat theSpanishCivilWarIBMT’s LenCromeMemorial Lectures2002-2010by expert historians on theSpanishCivilWar, includingHelenGraham, Paul Preston, FranciscoJ RomeroSalvadó, RichardBaxell,EnriqueMoradiellos, Angela Jackson,Ángel Viñas and JuliánCasanova.Edited by Jim Jump (paperback).£16 plus £3.99p&p

EarringsSpanish Republican-coloured beadearrings. Handmade in theUK.£5 plus £1.99 p&p

70th anniversary trinket boxMade from finest bone china in theUK.On the lid is the three-pointedInternational Brigade star. Inside is anextract fromLa Pasionaria’sspeechfamous farewell speech to theInternational Brigades inOctober1938. In the colours of theSpanishRepublic: red, yellow andpurple.£10 plus £2.99p&p

BritishBattalion t-shirtIn red or grey andmade for the IBMTbyt-shirt specialists Philosophy Footballfromethically sourced cotton. BritishBattalion banner on front andInternational BrigadeMemorial Truston sleeve.Available in:S (36inch chest/90cms)M (40inch/100cms)L (44inch chest/110cms)XL (48inch/120cms)XXL (52inch/130cms)Fittedwomen’s (34-36inch/70-90cms).£15 plus £3.99p&p

TomMannCenturia t-shirtMade for the IBMTby t-shirtspecialists Philosophy Football fromethically sourced cotton.TomMannCenturia banner on front.International BrigadeMemorial Truston sleeve.Available inS,M, L, XL, XXLand fittedwomen’s size (see above for sizedetails).£15 plus £3.99p&p

75th anniversaryposterOnA4 art paper and speciallydesigned for the IBMTby leadinggraphicartistMartin Bedford.£5 plus £1.99 p&p

Jarama75th anniversaryposterA3poster specially designed for theIBMTbySimonHawkesworth of FoldDesign tomark the 75th anniversary oftheBritish Battalion’s first andmostbloodybattle.With first two verses of“JaramaValley”.£5 plus £2.99p&p

70th anniversary tankardMade in theUK from finest bonechina. On the front of the tankard isthe three-pointed InternationalBrigade star and on the reverse is aquotation fromLa Pasionaria’sfarewell speech to the InternationalBrigades inOctober 1938.£7 plus £3.99p&p

Sendorders,includingyournameandaddress,asizeandcolourwhereappropriateandachequepayabletotheIBMT,to:IBMTMerchandise,286BrantinghamRoad,ManchesterM210QU.

FormultipleordersintheUKuptoavalueof£30(excludingp&p)calculatetotalp&pbytakingthehighestp&pamongitemsordered,halvingthep&poftheremainingitemsandaddingthemtogether.Thereisnop&ponordersforgoodsworthmorethan£30.

ForordersoutsidetheUKortopaybycreditcardorPayPal,gotoourwebsite:[www.international-brigades.org.uk/merchandise.php]wheretherearealsootheritemslistedforsale.

IBMTmerchandiseProceedshelpfundthecommemorative,educationalandpublicityworkofthetrust

TheoFrancosInternationalBrigadeandBritish-basedFreeFrencharmyveteranTheoFrancosdiedon1Julyaged97.HewasborninSpainbuthisfamilyemigratedtoBayonne,France,wherehewasworkingasawaiterwhentheSpanishCivilWarbeganinJuly1936.Asayoungcommunistheimmediatelycrossedthebordertojointhefight.WiththeXIBrigadehetookpartinbattlesaroundMadridandatBruneteandBelchite.InJune1940,justbeforeFrancefelltothe

Nazis,hecaughtashipfromtheFrenchportofStJeandeLuztoPlymouth.FromtherehewenttoManchesterandwastrainedwiththeFreeFrenchasaparachutistandsaboteur.From1941hetookpartinseveralAlliedmissionsbehindenemylinesinNorway,Belgium,France,NorthAfricaandItaly. InJuly1942,hesecretlycrossedintoSpainandwasarrestedbyCivilGuardsclosetothePortugueseborder.However,heescapedfromtheprisoncampatMirandadeEbro–wherehehadalsobeenheldprisonerattheendoftheSpanishCivilWarbeforeescaping–andfinallymadehiswaytoPortugaland,viaCasablanca,backtoEngland.Afterthewarheresumedhiscareerasa

waiterinBayonne,marriedandraisedafamily.

IdaHackettIdaHackett,whodiedon23Aprilat theageof97,wasoneofthestalwartsoftheworkingclassmovement inNottinghamshire, reports

BarryDonlan.DuringtheSpanishCivilWarshewasactivein“AidforSpain”campaigns.SheknewEricWhalley, fromMansfield,whowaskilledinSpain,alongwithfellowvolunteersFrankEllis fromHucknallandLionel JacobsandWalterGregoryfromNottingham.IdawaspresentatCountyHall in1993when

SpanishambassadorAlbertoAza, InternationalBrigadeveteranJackJonesandcountycouncilleaderDennisPettitunveiledthememorial totheInternationalBrigades.Shewasagainpres-ent–andspoke–atthelocal tradescouncil’srededicationceremonyheldinJuly2010.AnIdaHackettMemorialFundhasbeenestab-lishedtocreateamemorialtoIda.Senddona-tionstotheNottinghamshire,NottinghamandMansfieldTradesCouncil,c/o75DunstanCrescent,Worksop,NottsS801AG.

ViktorLavskySovietairforcegeneralViktorLavsky,thelastofthe800SovietairmenwhofoughtfortheSpanishRepublic,diedon19June,aged97.ArrivinginSpainin1937,hetookpartinmorethan90missionsandsurvivedbeingshotdownontwooccasions.Oneinfourofhisfellowpilotswaskilledinaction.LavskyreturnedtoSpainseveraltimesfollowingFranco’sdeath.Ina2009interviewhelamentedthefactthatafterthewartheSovietvolunteershadbeenprohibitedfromtalkingabouttheirexperiencesinSpain.UntilhisdeathhewasthepresidentoftheRussian

associationofveteransoftheSpanishCivilWar.ThepresidencyhasnowbeenpassedtoformertranslatorAdelinaKondratieva,aged95,thelastsurvivorofthe3,000SovietvolunteersinSpain.

GeorgeParkGeorgePark,whodiedon17June2012,aged86,wasthesonofAlexanderPark,ofGlasgow,whowaskilledinAragonon12March1938.AlongwithhisfamilyhewasadevotedmemberoftheIBMTandregularlyattendedeventsorganisedbythetrust.AttheIBMTAnnualGeneralMeetinginDundeeinOctober2009hememorablyreadoutaletterfromhisfatherthathereceivedasan11-year-old,shortlybeforehisfatherwaskilled.

ElisabethTomalinElisabethTomalin,thegraphicandtextiledesigner,artist,arttherapistandwidowofInternationalBrigaderMilesTomalin,diedon8March,aged99.BorninDresden,ElisabethWallachleftGermanytoescapetheNazisand,viaParis,settledinLondon,workingprincipallyasatextiledesigner. In1939shemetMilesTomalin,apoetandgraphicdesigner,andtheymarriedayearlater.Hediedin1983.DuringtheSecondWorldWarElisabethworkedfortheMinistryofInformation,helpingtodesigntheiconicpostersthaturgedpeopletoDigForVictory.SheafterwardsbecameheadoftheMarks&Spencertextileprintdepartmentand,inlaterlife,anarttherapist.


OBITUARIESMickJonesByJimJump

IBMTtrusteeMickJones,whodiedon1Augustattheageof68,wasanartistanddesignerwhodeployedhisconsiderableskillsforthe

benefitoftheIBMT.Hehelpeddesignseveralcommemorativeplaques,aswellasthe“Antifascistas”mobileexhibitionthatwasinau-guratedinLondonin2010bySpanishambassa-dorCarlesCasajuana.FirstelectedtotheIBMTexecutivecommittee

in2006,hewasalreadywellknowntomanyIBMTsupportersasthesonandconstantcom-panionofInternationalBrigaderJackJones(1913-2009),theIBMTPresidentatthetime.Mickwaspartofagenerationofartists,who,

workingcollaborativelyinthe1970sand80s,cre-atedprominentmuralsthroughoutLondononpolitical,tradeunionandcommunitythemes.Theydrewinspirationfromtheequallypolitically-committedschoolofMexicanmuralistsfromear-lier inthe20thcentury.MickindeedspentthreemonthsinMexicoCityinthemid-1980sviewingthemanyworksinandaroundthecapitalbyJoséClementeOrozco,DiegoRiveraand–hisfavourite–DavidAlfaroSiqueiros.In1980,withSimonBarber,MickJonespainted

theFitzroviaCommunityMuralinWhitfieldGardens,TottenhamCourtRoad.Whenin2006

TimeOutcompiledalistofLondon’s10bestmurals,theFitzroviamuralwasplacedatnumberone.In1985,withAnnaWalker,hepaintedtheHackneyPeaceCarnivalMural inDalstonLane,usingdesignsleftbyhisfriend–andAnna’shus-band–RayWalker,whodiedsuddenlyatthestartoftheproject.AfterattendingBirminghamSchoolofArtand

London’sRoyalSchoolofArt, Jonesworkedasanindustrialdesignerand,followingteachertrain-ing,asanartteacher.Hegaveupfull-timeteach-ingbytheendofthe1970sinordertoconcen-trateonhisincreasingnumberofcommissions.Hisartworksincludealargetriptychforthe

1987centenaryoftheNationalUnionofSeamen,whichnowhangsinthelobbyoftheLondon

headquartersoftheInternationalTransportWorkers’Federation.In2003/4heproducedaseriesofstainedglasswindowsandmuralsattheLondonheadofficeoftheUnionofConstruction,AlliedTrades&Technicians(UCATT).ThesewereunveiledinSeptember2004byGordonBrown,thenChancelloroftheExchequer.HealsocreatedtheDurhamMiners’GalaMural

attheMiners’Hall inDurham,muralsfortheMuseumofLiverpoolLife(nowtheMuseumofLiverpool)andtheMerseysideTradeUnionCommunity&UnemployedResourceCentre,whichclosedin2010,andportraitsofGeorgeBrumwellandJimmyKnapp,generalsecretariesrespectivelyofUCATTandtransportunionRMT.Incharacteristicallyproudandtaciturnfashion,

Micktoldfewpeopleabouthisdeterioratinghealth,havingbeendiagnosedwithcancerinJunelastyear.HecontinuedtopursueprojectsonbehalfoftheIBMTandhislastpublicoutingwason7JulytoseetheunveilingofanewplaquebesidetheInternationalBrigadememorial inLondon’sJubileeGardens.Theideafortheplaquewashisownandheoversawitsdesignandmanufacture.Colleaguessaythat,evenattheJubilee

Gardensgatheringandinobviouslypoorhealth,hewastalkingenthusiasticallyabouthispro-posalforamemorial inCorbera,nearGandesa,overlookingthebattlefieldwheretheBritishBattalionsawactionforthelasttimeinSpaininSeptember1938.

MickJoneswithhisportraitof constructionunionleaderGeorgeBrumwell.

10September-15OctoberNEWHAVEN: IBMT’s“Antifascistas”exhibitionatNewhavenFort,FortRoad,BN99DS;10:30am-5pm;foradmissionchargessee[www.newhavenfort.org.uk].15SeptemberLIVERPOOL: Inaugurationofexhi-bitionofphotosofMerseysideInternationalBrigadersatTheCasa,HopeStreet,L19BQ;unveilingat12noonbyLenMcCluskey,UniteGeneralSecretary;contactDannyPayne[[email protected]].5OctoberCAMBRIDGE:PublicmeetingtorememberCambridgevolunteers;co-hostedbyCambridgeCommunistPartyandCambridgeUniversityHispanicSociety;7:45pm;checklist-ingon[www.cambridge.communist-party.info]forvenuedetails.12-14OctoberSUSSEX COAST:WeekendofeventsinEastbourne,NewhavenandHastings

centredontheIBMTAnnualGeneralMeetingatNewhavenFort;seepanelaboveformoredetails.20OctoberLONDON:PubliclecturebyhistorianRichardBaxellontherelationshipbetweentheInternationalBrigadevolunteersandtherefugeechildrenwhoarrivedinBritaininMay1937fromSpain’sBasqueCountry;2:30pm;Kensington&ChelseaLibraryLectureTheatre,PhillimoreWalk,W87RY;contactNataliaBenjamin[[email protected]].28OctoberEDINBURGH:Annualcommemora-tionatInternationalBrigadememorial inEastPrincesStreetGardens;12noon;formoreinfor-mation:[[email protected]].

NB:EventsnotorganisedbytheIBMTaretheresponsibilityoftheindividualsandorganisa-tionsconcerned.

�TheEretzIsraelMuseuminTelAviv ishostinganexhibition“FromHeretoMadrid:VolunteersfromPalestineintheInternationalBrigadesinSpain,1936-1938”.Pictured(top)areportraitsofsomeofthevolunteers–outofabout300thatwenttoSpain.TheyincludepicturesofthetwoPalestinianArabswhoalsojoinedtheInternationalBrigades.Closingon30October,theexhibitionfeaturesaninterviewwithShmuelSegal(above)who,untilhisdeathinJanuary,wasthelastsurvivingmemberoftheInternationalBrigadeswhocamefromPalestineandafter-wardslivedinIsrael.Formoreinformationsee[www.eretzmuseum.org.il/e/123].

�The2013 Jaramaanniversaryweekendwilltakeplaceon15/16February.OntheFridaytherewillbeaguidedtouroftheBritishBattalionposi-tionsonthebattlefieldsouth-eastofMadridandanearlyeveningeventinMadridfeaturingguestspeakers.OnSaturdaybattlefieldsitesassoci-atedwiththeLincolnBattalionwillbevisited,fol-lowedbylunchinMoratadeTajuña.CoacheswillbelaidonfromMadrid.Furtherdetailsregardingaccommodationandthefinalprogrammewillbemadeavailablelaterthisyear.Thiseventhasbecomeincreasinglypopularinrecentyears,soanyoneinterestedinattendingshouldadviseDannyPayneattheearliestopportunity.Email:[[email protected]]orphonetheIBMTSecretary,tel:020-72286504.

�HistorianDavidRosenbergisorganisingan“AntifascistFootprints”tourofLondon’sEastEnd.Thetwo-hourwalktakesintheimportantsitesoftheOctober1936BattleofCableStreet.Thecostis£7(£4unwaged);bookinginforma-tionfrom[www.eastendwalks.com].


AGMagenda1/Chair’sopeningremarks2/Apologiesforabsence3/MinutesofpreviousAGM4/Mattersarising5/Secretary’sreport6/MembershipSecretary’sreport7/Treasurer’sreport8/ElectionofofficersandExecutiveCommitteemembers9/Anyotherbusiness(AOB)10/DateandplaceofnextAGM11/Chair’sclosingremarks

�Nominationsforofficers(Chair,SecretaryandTreasurer)andExecutiveCommitteemembers(nomorethan11)mustbemadeinwritingandreceivedbytheSecretaryby29September2012.�ProposeditemsforAOBmustbereceivedinwritingbytheSecretaryby6October2012.�Email: [[email protected]]orwriteto:IBMTSecretary,6StonellsRoad,LondonSW116HQ.

ProgrammeofeventsforAGMweekendFriday12October�Exclusivescreeningofarecordingofthe“GoodbyeBarcelona”musicalabouttheInternationalBrigadesat7:30pmatTheLeafHallCommunityArtsCentreinEastbourne(51Seaside,BN227NB);freeentry;allwelcome.

Saturday13October�12noon:RededicationofInternationalBrigadememorialbenchatNewhavenFort(FortRoad,Newhaven,EastSussexBN99DS).�2pm-4:30pm:IBMTAnnualGeneralMeetingatNewhavenFort(seeabove);allIBMTmem-berswelcome.

�7:30pm:“SussexandtheSpanishCivilWar”presentationatUnite theUnion’sEastbourneCentre (GrandParade,Eastbourne,EastSussexBN214DN); freeentry;allwelcome.

Sunday14October�From10:30am-3:30pm:coachandwalkingtourofsitesinHastingsthatfeatureinthelifeandclassicnovelofRobertTressell,“TheRaggedTrouseredPhilanthropists”;£10;advancebookingstronglyrecommended;con-tactMikeAnderson:[[email protected]]ortel:01435-864978.

Transport: IfyourequiretransportbetweenEastbourneandNewhavenonSaturdaycon-tactMikeAnderson(seedetailsabove). If thereissufficientdemand,abusmightbeprovided,withpassengersaskedtomakeacontributiontowardsthecosts.

Accommodation:B&BandeveningmealavailableatEastbourneCentre(seeaddressabove)ataspecialdailyrateof£55.50perper-son;tel:01323-433900;website:[www.eastbournecentre.co.uk].

WHAT’SONNoticeoftheIBMTAnnualGeneralMeetingonSaturday13October2012from2pm-4:30pmatNewhavenFort,FortRoad,Newhaven,EastSussexBN99DS

Newhavenharbourand (foreground)NewhavenFort, venue for the IBMT’sAnnualGeneralMeeting.

Issue 33 /Autumn-Winter 2012

16 International BrigadeMemorial Trust

APPLAUSE:Anappreciativecrowd(above)heardperformancesfromPacoMarín(farleft),EwanMcLennan(left),Na-mara(bottomleft).FrancescaBeard(bottom).IBMTtrusteeandfor-merunionandpensioners’leaderRodneyBickerstaffe(below)wasthemainspeakerattheevent.

FLAGGEDUP:DavidLomon(above)unveilstheplaquenexttotheInternationalBrigadememorial.LookingonaresonIrving(left)andRamónGandarias,DeputyHeadofMissionattheSpanishEmbassy.Below,DavidLomonandAlmudenaCroswiththeflagoftheSpanishRepublicthatwaspresentedtohim.

Music,poetryandaminute’ssilencefilledtheairatLondon’sJubileeGardenson7JulyattheIBMT’sannualcommemorationtohonourthe2,500vol-unteersfromtheBritishIsleswhofoughtthefas-cistsintheSpanishCivilWarof1936-39.OneinfiveofthemwaskilledinSpain.

Withsome350peopleinattendance,theeventwasmarkedbytheunveilingofanewplaquebyDavidLomon,oneofthelastsurvivingBritishvet-eransofthewar.IthasbeenplacedinfronttheexistingmemorialtotheInternationalBrigades.

MusicwasprovidedbyBBCRadio2folkawardwinnerfor2011EwanMcLennan,Spanishsinger-songwriterPacoMarínandfolkduoNa-mara.Theylaterperformedataget-togetherinthe

Camel&Artichokepub,alongwithHull-basedfolksingerandmusicologistoftheSpanishCivilWarGeoffLawes.

AhighlightinJubileeGardenswasanewpoem,“WitnessasHero”,speciallywrittenfortheocca-sionbyacclaimedperformancepoetFrancescaBeard.Shealsoreadoutapoemwrittenearlierthisyeartomarkthe75thanniversaryofthebombingofGuernica.

DavidLomonwaspresentedwithaninscribedSpanishRepublicanflagbyAlmudenaCrosoftheMadrid-basedAABIInternationalBrigadesfriend-shipgroup.

ThenewplaquewascommissionedbytheIBMTtomarktherelocationofthenationalmemorialas

partofa£5millionredevelopmentofJubileeGardensthatwascompletedinMay.Thememo-rial itselfhasbeenrepairedandrestored,withfundinghelpfromtheWarMemorialsTrust.

Duringtheceremony,therewasaminute’ssilencetorememberthe526deadandwreathswerelaidby,amongothers,representativesoftheSpanishembassy,SpanishexileandrefugeegroupsandtheAssociationof JewishEx-ServicemenandWomen.

Watcha17-minutefilmbyMarshallMateerwithhighlightsoftheeventat[www.youtube.com/user/IBMTnews].

Seepage4:TwopoemsbyFrancescaBeard.

IBMTNEWSLETTER

AnnualcommemorationinLondon’sJubileeGardens

AndrewWiard

AndrewWiard

AndrewWiard

issue33/autumn-winter2012 …international-brigades.org.uk/sites/default/files/ibmt... · 2018. 8....

Documents