Memorial unveiled to fallen in Spanish Civil War (From The Northern Echo)
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Plaque commemorating Spanish Civil War fighters rededicated
9:00am Saturday 10th October 2009 in Middlesbrough News
PLAQUE REDEDICATION: Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon, left, Marlene Sidaway, secretary of the memorial trust and Duncan Longstaff, whose father, John, fought in the war
A MEMORIAL plaque with a history of its own has been rededicated to honour ten Teesside men who fought in the Spanish Civil War.
Volunteers from all over the world travelled to Spain between 1936 and 1939 to fight on the side of the elected Spanish Republican Government against the fascist forces of General Francisco Franco.
The plaque, which dates back to 1940, was made by Harold Bennett, who gave it to his friend, Tommy Chilvers, who wrote on it the names of the Teesside fighters of the International Brigades.
The plaque originally hung in the Middlesbrough branch headquarters of the Communist Party in Linthorpe, but disappeared in the Sixties after the group disbanded.
It was found in 1983 in a junk shop in Acton, West London, by a teacher, who handed it to the International Brigade Association.
Duncan Longstaff, from the International Brigade Memorial Trust, rededicated the plaque yesterday.
Of the ten names on the plaque, several did not return, and those who survived the conflict have since died.
