IBMT Magazine www.international-brigades.org.uk Issue 45 / 2-2017 INTERNATIONAL BRIGADE MEMORIALTRUST HowBritishwerethe ‘British’volunteers? BA NNERS FOR SPA IN AnexhibitionshowcasingsixnewlyconservedAidSpainbannersplus otherartefactsfromtheMarxMemorialLibrar yandIslingtonarchives 5Mayto8July2017atIslingtonMuseum,245StJohnStreet,LondonEC1V4NB Monday–Saturday(closedWednesday)10am-5pm;freeadmission EventsarefreeandateitherIslington WALK: IslingtonintheSpanish WORKSHOP: Islington’sbanner SpanishCollectionwithArchivist Museum(addressabove)ortheMarx CivilWar forSpain &LibraryManagerMeirianJump. MemorialLibrary,37aClerkenwell 6May,3June&24June,11am, 13May,10.30am-4pm,Islington Green,LondonEC1R0DU. MarxMemorialLibrary Museum TALK: ArtistsforSpain FILM: TheGuernicaChildren ExplorethelivesofIslington Joinbanner-makerEdHalltohelp 8June,7pm,MarxMemorial 27April,7pm,MarxMemorial peoplewhoplayedapartinthe makeabanneraboutIslington’s Library Library warwithalocalhistoricalguide. involvementintheSpanishCivil ArthistorianandcriticChristine ScreeningofStephenBowles’s War.Thebannerwillgoondisplay Lindeyonartisticresponsestothe acclaimedfilmtomark80years TALK: BritainandtheSpanish atIslingtonMuseum. SpanishCivilWar,including sinceGuernica’saerialdestruction CivilWar referencestoLaurenceBradshaw byNaziwarplanes.Introducedby 9May,6.30pm,IslingtonMuseum EXPLORE: TheSpanisharchives (1899-1978)andJulianOtto HerminioMartínez,oneofnearly ProfessorTomBuchanan(Oxford 1June,6pm,MarxMemorialLibrary Trevelyan(1910-1988),theartists 4,000 Basquechildrefugeeswho University),authorof‘TheImpact Anopportunitytoexplorethe creditedwiththebannerson cametoBritainin1937. oftheSpanishCivilWaronBritain’. MarxMemorialLibrary’sunique displayatIslingtonMuseum. www.islington.gov.uk/heritage G 020 7527 2837 www.marx-memorial-library.org G 020 7253 1485 IBMT MAGAZINE Atth eIBM T’sLe n Issueno.45 Crome Memorial 2-2017 Conference Coverpicture OilpaintingbyThomasChilvers(extendingto ourbackcover)oftheBritishAnti-Tank BatteryinSpain.Bornin1909,Chilvers,from Redcar,wasanInternationalBrigaderand formermerchantseafarer.Signed‘T.Chilvers ‘85’,thepaintinghangsintheMarxMemorial Library,London,andisreproducedhereby permission.TheMMLwouldliketomake TheIBMT’sannuallecturedayon18Marchreturnedto GeorgeBushintherun-uptotheinvasionofIraqin2003. contactwithanysurvivingmembersofthe theManchesterConferenceCentreandonceagaindrewa Thedaywasmarkedbylivelydiscussionsaftereach Chilversfamily,whoshouldemail[archives largeaudience.Thisyear’sthemewas‘Liberty’s talk(below,right)andbythepresenceofmany @mml.xyz]. Volunteers:thetimelesslegacyoftheSpanishCivilWar’ Manchester-basedSpaniards(seebottompicture). 5 Notsucha‘British’Battalion:national andthemainspeakers(picturedbelowleft,fromleft) DavidLeach’sfilm‘VoicesfromaMountain’,aboutthe wereMadrid-basedauthorandjournalistGilesTremlett discoveryofamemorialtothedeadoftheBattleofthe identityversusinternationalism andhistorianandIBMTChairRichardBaxell. EbrothatsurvivedtheFrancodictatorship,wasalso 8 BannersoftheBritishBattalionand Tremlett(alsopicturedabove)spokeaboutthe screenedandthedayconcludedwitharousing volunteers enduringpoliticallegacyofFrancoismandSpain’s selectionofSpanishCivilWarsongsfromlocalquartet struggletocometotermswithitsfracturedrecent theMadDonnas. 10 Secretarialnotes history–topicscoveredinhisacclaimedbook‘Ghosts ThelecturedayisnamedafterLenCrome,theLatvian- 12 Paris1937:whenartmadehistory ofSpain:TravelsThroughaCountry’sHiddenPast’.The bornLancashireGPwhowenttoSpainin1936andbecame slidebeingprojectedbehindhimshowsright-wing headoftheInternationalBrigades’medicalservices. 14 Obituary:BillThornycroft SpanishpremierJoséMaríaAznarwithTonyBlairand GSeepage5forRichardBaxell’stalk. 15 Letters 16 StalinandSpain 18 Books,includingacollectionofessays onFrancoismandSpain’smemorywars 22 LastwordfromFrankFarr TheIBMTMagazine (formerlytheIBMT Newsletter )ispublishedthreetimesayear andissentfreetoallmembers.Backnumbers canbedownloadedfromtheIBMTwebsiteon [www.international-brigades.org.uk / newsletter.htm].Allcontentisthe r e copyright©oftheIBMTandcredited e t contributorsandcannotbereproduced a M l l withoutwrittenpermission. a h s r a Editor M d n JimJump a p IBMT m u J m 37aClerkenwellGreen,LondonEC1R0DU i J : 02072538748 s o t o [email protected] h P InternationalBrigadeMemorialTrust www.international-brigades.org.uk Registeredcharityno.1094928 I VISITOR: FilmdirectorKenLoach(picturedcentre)touredtheIBMT’s P S attheCurzonCinema&ArtsinClevedonon A ‘Antifascistas’exhibition G 21March.HeisseenhereholdingacopyoftheIBMTbook‘Antifascistas: R British&IrishVolunteersintheSpanishCivilWar’thatwaspresentedto himbylocalIBMTactivistDuncanLongstaff(left)andCardiff-basedIBMT MembershipSecretaryMaryGreening(right). LoachwasinClevedonforaspecialscreeningofhislatest,award- winningfilm‘I,DanielBlake’,buttooktimeouttolookattheIBMT’s exhibition(partiallyvisibleinthebackground)–whichhesaidhefound tobeinteresting. ‘Antifascistas’wasondisplayatthecinemaaspartofanArtsCouncil- funded‘RoadtoFreedom’project,includingperformancesandfilms,to remembertheimpactoftheSpanishCivilWaronSouth-WestEngland andSouthWales. Whenreleasedin1995,KenLoach’s‘LandandFreedom’,about n o s BritishvolunteersintherevolutionarymilitiasfightinginAragonearlyin r e lWar,wasreceivedverycriticallybymostInternational m theSpanishCivi m E Brigadeveterans.Thoughregardedasafinefilm,ithascontinuedtostir s i r controversysincethen,particularlyoveritsnegativeportrayalofthe h C InternationalBrigades. Markingthe80th ann iversaryof the Battle of Jarama Picturedclockwisefromtopleft: GIBMTsupportersandunionactivistsjoinedSpanishtradeunionistsatthememorialinMadrid’sAtocha Streettofiveleft-winglawyersmurdered40yearsagobySpanishneo-fasciststryingtosabotagethereturnof democracyafterFranco’sdeathtwoyearsearlierin1975.The116-stronggroupfromBritainwereintheSpanish capitalon10/11Februarytomarkthe80thanniversaryoftheBattleofJarama–inwhich150menoftheBritish Battalionwerekilled–aspartofatriporganisedbyIBMTmembersfromtheNorth-WestofEngland. GAtareceptionbytheSpanishCCOOtradeunionconfederation,ToshMcDonald(centre),presidentoftrain divers’unionASLEF,presentedJaimeCedrún,generalsecretaryoftheCCOOMadridregion,withacopyofthe IBMT book‘ASpanishCivilWarScrapbook’.Alsopictured(partially)isLynnCollins,regionalsecretaryofthe NorthWestTUC. GManyhundredsofInternationalBrigadesupportersfromaroundtheworldwoundtheirwayacrossthe Jaramabattlefieldon18FebruaryfortheBattleofJarama’s80thanniversary‘memorialmarch’.Thiswaspartof aweekendofcommemorativeactivitieson17/18FebruaryorganisedbytheMadrid-basedAABIInternational Brigadesfriendshipgroup,inwhichsome60IBMT memberstookpart. GMusiciansfromBritain,IrelandandSpain–amongthemCalumBaird,GalloRojoandNa-mara–playedtoan audienceof1,000ataBattleofJaramamemorialconcerton17FebruaryatthePilarBardemTheatreinRivas Vaciamadrid. GAceremonyofremembrancewasheldon17FebruaryatthememorialinTarancónlistingthe39Scottish membersoftheBritishBattalionwhowerekilledatJarama(seealsopage10). 4 International Brigade Memorial Trust COVER STORY Werethe‘Britons’British? InternationalismandnationalidentityintheInternationalBrigades Most of the 2,500 volunteers who went to osthistoriansnowagreethataround35,000peoplefromsome Spain from Britain and Ireland joined the 53nationsvolunteeredtojointheSpanishRepublicanforces. MOfthose,asmanyas2,500travelledtoSpainfromtheBritish British Battalion of the mainly English- Isles.Areasonableestimatewouldsuggestthatupto550ofthemwere speaking 15th International Brigade – fromScotland,between150-200fromWalesand70fromNorthern which also included the Abraham Lincoln Ireland.Therewerealsoupto250fromwhatwasthentheIrishFreeState, 60fromCyprus,asimilarnumberfromAustraliaandahandfulfrom Battalion and Mackenzie-Papineau Canada,SouthAfrica,NewZealandandseveralotherCommonwealth Battalion, made up principally of countries.TherewereeventhreevolunteersfromIndiaandoneclaiming Americans and Canadians respectively.The British tocomefromIraq,whovolunteeredundertheunlikelynameofJohn Battalion was the only battalion given a national name. Smith(itwas,ofcourse,anomdeguerre –hisrealnamewasactually GopalMohanHuddarandhewasIndian,ratherthanIraqi). But how ‘British’ was it?What was its real composition? Whatisnotalwaysrevealedisthatsomewherebetween10and20per How did the various national groups in it get on? And how centofthevolunteerswereJewish.It’shardtobemoreaccuratethanthat ‘internationalist’ were the International Brigades as a becauseindividualsdisguisedtheirJewishoriginsbychangingor whole?These were the topics addressed by historian (and anglicisingtheirnames,forunderstandablereasons. Whenitcomestothevolunteers’placeoforigin,aswehaveseen, IBMT Chair) RICHARD BAXELL (pictured above) in his talk at nearly90percentgaveaddresseswithinEngland,ScotlandorWales. the IBMT’s Len Crome Memorial Conference in Manchester Therefore,onfirstsightitdoesnotseemwhollyunreasonablefortheir on 18 March. Here is an edited version of what he said… unittohavebeencalledtheBritishBattalion.However,alargenumberof thosewhogaveUKaddresseswhentheyjoinedtheInternational BrigadeswereactuallynotfromBritain.Thisisparticularlysowiththe approximately500whogaveLondonaddresses.AswithParis,Britain’s ABOVE: The 50-strong British Anti-TankBattery of the 15th International capitalcityhosted–asitdoestoday–alargetransientpopulationanda Brigade also contained volunteers from several other countries, including numberofvolunteersusedtemporaryor‘careof’addresses,suchasthe Canada, Norway,South Africa,Spain and the US. Continued overleaf IBMT