SUNDERLAND has a proud history of fighting fascism. A great source of pride for me is the fact that Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts, try as they might, could never get a foothold in Sunderland.

The working class, the very people that Mosely, like the right wing today, saw as ripe for exploitation and indoctrination, stood firm and met his attempted meetings and rallies head on.

We know the  Communist Party prevented the British Union of Fascists (BUF) holding open air meetings in Sunderland; for example in May 1934 a meeting was stopped when the BUF speaker was “knocked off his box” by a Sunderland man who would later serve in the International Brigade in Spain.

It was not only the men — Nigel Todd, in his In Excited Times - People Against the Blackshirts tells us that: “on Wearside, women anti-fascists were certainly part of the opposition at Blackshirts meetings.”

Thus past and present anti-fascism was at the forefront of our minds prior to our launch of Solidarity Sunderland; a campaign to commemorate, and erect a memorial to, the people and ships of our city who opposed fascism.

We were very pleasantly surprised to see that over 40 people attended the launch meeting in April at the Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens.

After Rob Macdonald described the ideas behind Solidarity Sunderland, I talked about the ships and sailors from Sunderland who had broken through Franco’s naval blockade of northern Spain.

I began by specifically mentioning the SS Thorpehall, skippered by Captain Joseph Andrews of Roker, Sunderland only to be interrupted by an elderly gentleman who was sat on the front row of the attendees. He declared proudly: “That’s my Dad.” I was astounded and overjoyed in equal measure. I suspect many of the audience were too as the place fell silent for a moment before bursting into spontaneous applause.

I was honoured to speak with James Andrews and his wife Brenda. I explained to him that I’d researched his father for my recently published book Sunderland Connections to the Spanish Civil War: its people and its ships and that his father was one of the main reasons why I’d looked to get a memorial to them.

I was thrilled when James bought a few copies of my book, and on seeing my name he remarked, “Are you any relation to Jimmy Tucknutt?” — it turned out that James knew my grandfather!

Captain Andrews is one of the Sunderland people, who, for a long time, I have wanted to get the recognition they deserve. Ordinary men and women who fought the growing evils of fascism because it was the right thing to do.

Recent events only strengthened my resolve, as I watched the disgraceful and embarrassing rioters, the “rent-a-mob” who smashed up our hometown last summer I saw parallels with Mosley’s thugs: ill-informed rioters, drip fed lies from the media, lousy from a diet of Reform Party propaganda and right-wing rhetoric.

I’m proud that our grandfathers challenged fascism, which is why I want to commemorate these heroes and use their stories to inspire the generations who come after us to follow their example.

I find it especially sad that the incredible Captain Andrews and his equally incredible story is largely unknown in Sunderland, particularly when you realise the level of reverence still held for him in the Basque region of Spain.

On May 1 1937, at the height of his exploits, the Aberdeen Journal reported: “The name of Captain Joseph Andrews, skipper of the Thorpehall, has become legendary among the Basques for courage and daring on the high seas. The captain, who is a Sunderland man, brought the Thorpehall into Bilbao again last night, making it the third time he has run the gauntlet of the Franco blockade. The Thorpehall is showing signs of her narrow escapes. She has a number of shell scars as souvenirs of the war.”

I took great pleasure in reading this particular quote to James. Joyfully we arranged another meeting with just James and Brenda, we wanted to hear him tell us more of his father.

At this meeting they very kindly brought photographs, copies of letters he had written while at sea and fascinatingly copies of documents that are on display in the Itsasmuseum Bilbao. James also brought a painting and a solid silver cigarette case, the case has the Basque flag on the front and inside an engraved message reads: “From the Basque Government to the Captain of the SS Thorpehall, J Andrews 1938.”

Julio Romano Johnson, who led the launch of Solidarity Sunderland, identified the painting, dated 1938, as a farm in Valencia, possibly a farm just a few kilometres from his own family farm in Spain.

Seeing these precious and significant artefacts made me and the rest of the Solidarity Sunderland management group more determined than ever to campaign for a memorial in the hometown of Captain Andrews, to commemorate him and the other forgotten Sunderland heroes and heroines who supported the Spanish government whilst they faced the fascist invasion.

Solidarity Sunderland can be contacted via email : SolidaritySunderland@gmail.com