THE North East Volunteers for Liberty celebrates the contributions of the International Brigaders from north-east England, who fought to defend the Spanish Republic, has already held a number of commemorative events this year to mark the 90th anniversary of the outbreak of the Spanish civil war and the formation of the International Brigades.

Representatives have spoken to the Tyneside and Cumbrian trades union councils and held events in Billingham, Stockton and Sunderland, where the descendants of volunteers have spoken about their relatives.

On Saturday October 10, we will host a unique commemoration to mark the 40th anniversary of a historical reunion dinner as well as the 90th anniversary of the outbreak of the Spanish civil war, at The Moline Cross, in Norton, Stockton-on-Tees.

Forty years before, the Teesside Pensioners Association held an International Brigade commemorative reunion in the Billingham Arms Hotel to mark the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of the Spanish civil war.

After a reception and dinner, the Teesside volunteers, family and supporters then heard from the principal speaker, the trade union leader, founder and president of the National Pensioners Convention, Jack Jones.

He was followed by George Short, who had organised the volunteers 50 years earlier. Next to speak were Bill Alexander and John Longstaff for the International Brigade Association; both of whom had, like Jones, served in Spain.

The commemorative reunion dinner held in Billingham in 1986 was no ordinary veterans’ reunion. George Short, a lifelong campaigner and the most prominent of the leaders of the Teesside Pensioners Association (TPA) was the chief organiser. The Teesside Pensioners Association was active lobbying local trade unions, councils and major industrial employers, such as ICI, to consider pensioner welfare, persuading them to organise social events for pensioners and to facilitate public amenities, most notably free bus travel.

The Teesside Pensioners Association had a significant link to the International Brigade. George Short had been the Teesside district organiser for the Communist Party and therefore, with his great friend Wilf Jobling, he was responsible for recruiting and vetting the volunteers from our region who went to Spain.

Jack Jones had spent four months in Spain. After being wounded during the attack on Hill 481 during the battle of Ebro in July 1938, he was repatriated as the International Brigade volunteers were withdrawn from the fighting.

Pension battles

George and his wife Phyllis set up the Teesside Pensioners Association in 1975, they had persuaded ICI management to allow their employees to voluntarily donate a penny a week to support the TPA.

They organised large-scale community events, most famously the old-time music concerts which packed out Middlesbrough’s Labour Club on Linthorpe Road.

They also campaigned for free municipal bus passes for older residents; Teesside became the second area to gain this concession after Sheffield. In 1979, George and Phyllis assisted Jack Jones when he founded the National Pensioners Convention, which brought together various regional and sector-specific pensioners groups. I am delighted that Jack’s grandson David Jones has agreed attend and to speak at our dinner.

The commemorative dinner in Billingham highlighted the strong link and continuity between the International Brigade volunteers and the National Pensioners Convention.

Dave Goodman, a Teesside International Brigade volunteer himself, was a prominent member of the National Pensioners Convention, he wrote about the campaign in No Thanks to Lloyd George: How the Pension Was Won — The Forgotten Story, which had a foreword by Jack Jones and would be published just a few months after he attended the commemorative dinner.

As well as Dave, other Teesside volunteers attending were Tommy Chilvers and Jim Worton. They attended with Elenor Estensen, the widow of their great friend Otto. Tommy and Otto had served with Bill Alexander in the XV International Brigade anti-tank battery. Records show that a “J Whitfield” purchased a ticket for the dinner, I think that this may be Joe Whitfield the uncle of Ron Dennison, a prominent Teesside communist who was killed in Spain in 1937. Joe may have attended with William McGregor, a Scottish brigader who lived across the road from the Whitfields in Billingham.

We are thrilled to be working with the team at The Moline Cross, the heart of the Norton Sports complex’s community clubhouse, it has a fantastic reputation for offering exceptional food and service. Here we will honour the volunteers.

As the 1986 programme said: “They exemplified the true Briton’s hatred of the Tyrant. They went to safeguard peace and the arts of peace, so that humanity might advance. They went to help the defenceless Spanish people fight the invading armies. They went to save their loved ones, and us, from horrific fascism. Because they loved peace, they went out to fight. 526 were killed, and the majority of survivors were maimed or wounded. 2,100 men and women left these shores. They went because their open eyes could see no other way.”

Contact NEVolunteersforliberty@gmail.com for further details or to book a place for the commemoration.