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Why Teesside should get a memorial to international brigader Ron Dennison
TONY FOX relates the discoveries about a local volunteer who fought fascism that inspire a fundraising effort for a Teesside tribute
ULTIMATE SACRIFICE: Ron Dennison alias Bill Meredith can be seen in the British trenches after the
Battle of Jarama
DR DAVID GORDON SCOTT tells the story of the North Sands Massacre, Sunderland, as part of the ongoing work of remembrance of those killed by soldiers during the 1825 Seafarers Strike and the bicentennial commemorations on Sunday August 3
MATT KERR charts his bike-riding odyssey in aid of the Royal Marsden charity and CWU Humanitarian Aid
JOHN CALLOW tells of the rise, fall and rise again of a young martyr to the early French republic, Joseph Bara, whose short life was elevated by Robespierre and, later, others for its emotional and ideological appeal
April 9 1928 – July 26 2025
OLIVER SNELLING, a south London stonecarver and yeoman stonemason, relates how he is helping bring about a new festival next month
IN SPRING, in the presence of relatives of some of the Teesside Volunteers, we dedicated the Stockton International Brigade Memorial. This meant that on Teesside we had both the youngest and the oldest International Brigade memorials in the UK.
My friend Bob Beagrie, a Senior lecturer at Teesside University, performed at the dedication events that day; since 2020 he has regularly performed his poems at our annual commemorations. A collection of his poems inspired by the International Brigade entitled Romanceros is due to be published shortly. Whilst working on this collection, just six weeks after the dedication, Bob asked me about Thomas Carter; a volunteer from Hartlepool who is named on the Teesside memorial. I replied adding a eulogy written in 1937 by George Short, the Communist Party district secretary for Teesside.
After rereading the eulogy the line “In a letter from his commander, also of Teesside . . .” caught my eye because the only company commander from Teesside at this time was Bert Overton of No 4 Company and Thomas Carter was in No 2 Company. Bill Meredith would command No 2 Company but he was from Bellingham in Northumberland, not Teesside.
More from this author
TONY FOX highlights some of the activities of the newly founded North East Branch of the National Association of Italian Partisans
The annual commemoration of anti-fascist volunteers who fought fascism in Spain now includes a key contribution from Italian comrades
TONY FOX reports from a Hartlepool event to commemorate those from the area who went and fought for liberty in Spain
TONY FOX uncovers the story of Herbert ‘Avie’ Riding, one of five International Brigade volunteers from Hartlepool who fought fascism in Spain, as part of an annual commemoration of Teesside’s anti-fascist legacy
