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Basque Children of ’37 Association UK Newsletter: October 2007

From the Secretary some bell tents and the sign of the children’s camp in the park by the scouts, which moved many of the niños. After lunch, during the showing of Steve Bowles’ re-edited documentary “The Guernica Five months have passed since we held the very successful 70th Children”, the audience was visibly moved, finding the film Anniversary Commemorative Event at Southampton. It seems that disconcertingly heart-rending. we have needed all that time to recover from the hard work it A video was made of the day’s events and when it has been entailed – we were exhausted! But we can now look back on the copied, it will be available at cost price. All the projects we had event with great satisfaction, in the knowledge that it was an planned for 26 May were completed on time: the book unforgettable day. Even the capricious weather was on our side: “Recuerdos”, the CD “Songs of the Basque Children” and the DVD the day dawned bright and sunny, and moreover, remained fine. of “The Guernica Children” which is now an hour-long feature The programme was full and everything went without a hitch. documentary. In addition, Adrian Bell produced a second edition of Niños came with their families, wanting them to know about their his seminal book “Only For Three Months” which includes much story; friends and other interested parties came too from all over new material. England. There was a sizeable contingent from Spain, and some Another event organised to celebrate the Anniversary was the came from as far afield as Venezuela, Mexico and Brazil. For name festival run by Eastleigh Borough Council from 10-13 October badges, the niños were given facsimiles of the hexagonal disks entitled “Los Niños de Guernica”. The programme was vibrant and they had had to wear when they arrived as children in 1937, with exciting and has, again, introduced a whole new audience to the the correct number. The exhibition of display boards was the focal story of the niños. You will be able to read all about it in the next point at the beginning, as guests met over coffee old friends that Newsletter. they hadn’t seen for a long time. Then followed the speeches and What now for the Association? Various plans are afoot for the the unveiling by the Spanish ambassador Carlos Miranda of the future, including a “Viva la República” fiesta with poetry, song and wonderful plaque that Herminio Martínez had designed. dance in April. Please give us any ideas you might have, and send A last minute addition to the programme was a dance group in contributions for the next Newsletter. Kezka Dantza Taldea, together with two txistularis from the Saludos y agur, Elgoibar band, who lead the assembly to the dining room across the park like the Pied Piper. They danced and played at strategic points in the programme, including after the desert, when they invited niños to join them. We were amazed and enchanted by their springiness. Another impromptu event was the erection of Natalia Benjamin ▲ their later bombardment of Britain and made personas perdieron su familia, su cultura, Remembering the the point that the last battle of the Spanish Civil en muchas ocasiones hasta su lengua. War should always be regarded in history as Organizando este día en homenaje a ellos the first of the Second World War. podíamos darles una pequeña alegría.” by Marlene Sidaway Finally, singer-songwriter Billy Bragg led the A las cinco de la tarde, un grupo de singing of “Jarama” and the “Internationale”, cuarenta “niños” hicieron su entrada en la The annual commemoration at the International the last notes of which rang out over Jubilee tribuna del hemiciclo. El vicepresidente del Brigade memorial in Jubilee Gardens, London, Gardens before the rain came down Parlamento, el socialista Miguel Ángel was this year particularly moving, with Jack Martínez, les dio la bienvenida y les Jones, Life President of the International presentó como “unos niños que entre 1936 Brigade Memorial Trust, welcoming the large Oxford day school y 1939 salieron huyendo de España, de los crowd and IBMT Chair Sam Lesser giving a bombardeos fascistas, fueron evacuados y rousing speech. by Colin Carritt encontraron la solidaridad y el cariño de Dolores Long, daughter of familias en el Reino Unido. Hoy, con más de Commander Sam Wild, read the names of all The Director of Studies of Oxford University’s 75 años todos ellos, han venido a visitar el those Brigaders we had lost in the last year Department of Continuing Education, Tom Parlamento, a estar entre nosotros y creo and, before the minute’s silence, Bernado Buchanan, is a leading expert on the que es muy importante que les rindamos Fernández laid a wreath on behalf of the , so we should not be homenaje a ellos, y sobre todo, a la Spanish embassy, after which Penny Feiwel and surprised that, in this 70th anniversary of solidaridad del pueblo británico que les Dolly West laid one on behalf of the Trust. the evacuation of the Basque children to the acojió y les dio la familia que se les había Roman Márquez, who is one of only three UK, he should have run a day school, held negado en su país”. Fue este un saludo surviving militia men and women who took part on 28 April, on the children and their story. realmente excepcional, ya que en el in the events in Catalonia and in 1936, Buchanan presented a paper on Parlamento Europeo únicamente se saluda then thanked all those who had volunteered to a las delegaciones oficiales, nunca a las go to the aid of his country. personas individuales. He reminded us all how deeply those of his Los “niños” se reunieron con los countrymen who were fighting for the Republic eurodiputados españoles Iñigo Mendez de valued the sacrifices and bravery of the Vigo y Rosa Diez y con el británico Gary volunteers, who went to a strange country, Titley. “Quise elaborar un programa lo más knowing little of the language or the dangers, ilustrativo posible de la actual pluralidad de prepared to die for an ideal and to help the Europa”, concluyó Alejandro Cercas. “Sólo Spanish people in their hour of need. puedo decir que para mí a sido uno de esos Geoff Cowling, the former British consul- días en que me he sentido orgulloso de ser general in , spoke of Hitler’s At the Oxford day school (from left): Tom Buchanan, eurodiputado.” who had used the skies of Spain to practise Herminio Martínez and Helvecia Hidalgo.

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Basque Children of ’37 Association UK Newsletter: October 2007

Friends reunited at the anniversary lunch in May.

“Government, Politics and Humanitarianism” The second witness was Herminio the hostel continued to cater for travellers, in which, though he is an objective and Martínez, who was just seven years old and was finally auctioned in September analytical historian, there were more than a when he arrived in Southampton with his 2006. It was bought by Sam Type and Nick few glimpses of his partisan sympathies brother, Victor. His parents had been poor Sharples from Brighton, who have renovated towards the Republic and against the subsistence farmers herding sheep between the dilapidated building and re-opened it to aggressive forces of Franco and his sponsors Castile and Extremadura and they had the public. in Germany and Italy. He was particularly arrived in Bilbao seeking work in the iron ore ● On 21 May at Avenue Campus, University forthright about the shamefully inadequate mines. of Southampton, distinguished film maker response of the British Tory government to Both boys were sent to the Swansea and member of the Association, Steve the catastrophic events at Durango, colony and then to Tyneside. The local press Bowles, delivered the annual Pérez de Ayala Guernica, and later Bilbao. was hostile and the colony was run on a very Lecture, established with the generous The second session, under the title strict regime. support of the Cultural Office of the Spanish “Bombing Children”, was by Valentine But then they were moved to Brampton Embassy. His subject was “The Guernica Cunningham, Professor of English at Oxford near Carlisle where he came under the Children in Britain: a case of humanitarian University, who was scathing in his contempt influence of Lady Roberts, the wife of MP need versus perceived political expediency.” for the murderous tactics of Franco’s aerial Wilfrid Roberts – “a lovely buxom woman ● On 5 September, Natalia Benjamin gave a bombardment of the Basque region. He went with a warm and generous heart”. In paper on “The Basque Children in Great on to refer to the mountain of poetry, December 1939 he was due to be repatriated Britain” at the annual conference of the literature and art concerning events in the until it was discovered that his mother had Association of Iberian and Portuguese region, the most famous being the dramatic been forced to request his return under Studies held at Oxford Brookes University. representation of the destruction of duress by the local Nationalist officials aided Guernica by Picasso. and abetted by a priest threatening Next it was the turn of two witnesses to remaining family members with Anniversary lunch the evacuation from Bilbao. First to speak imprisonment. was Helvecia Hildago, who was 14 years old Finally, Herminio was taken under the wing The annual lunch of the niños was organised when she set sail on the Habana with her of a Methodist family in Leicester who were by Helvecia Hidalgo, helped by Herminio two younger siblings bound for loving and kind. Martínez. This year it was held on 20 May in Southampton. Her father had died four years The last speaker was Adrian Bell who a restaurant in Bayswater, London, La Maja. before in 1933 but the family were well spoke about the “Experience of the Basque About sixty guests came and a good time known as committed socialists and Children in Britain”, explaining that the was had by all. Helvecia’s mother feared for the children’s children’s experiences were very varied. safety if the Basque region was overrun by There were some 70 colonies. Some were the fascists. Although Helvecia understood model establishments, well run, generous Research: Hutton Hall the necessity of evacuation, her younger with their affections, and careful to retain brother and sister were desperately the children’s Basque identity. Others were Peter O’Brien, self-styled “opsimath”, former homesick and deeply traumatised by the spartan and either lacking any discipline or Head of Department at a Sixth Form College events. All three were transferred to the harsh and inhospitable. and teacher of French and Spanish, is doing colony in Carshalton where they slowly research into the Hutton Hall colony, near adapted to life in Britain. Guisborough, which was run by Ruth Eventually, the children were adopted by Talks given… Pennyman. He says the Basque children were the Cadbury family and provided with a good fortunate to land up in a well-run colony, and standard of living and education. Yet ● On 15 May, Herminio Martínez gave a talk continues: “It seems to me that for a couple of Helvecia said she had never really recovered about the Basque children at the re-opening years in the late 30s there was a movement from the enforced separation from her of the Blackboys Youth Hostel in Sussex. which generated countless examples of mother for those eleven crucial years of her Built in 1937 by Ettore and Antoinette idealism being translated into reality through life. By the time she was reunited with her Sommaruga of Poundsley Manor with the genuine compassion, endless resourcefulness mother in 1948, she was a mother in her own help of local people, the hostel catered for and sheer doggedness. Hutton Hall was one right. twenty-eight children. When the children left, of these”.

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