A STOCKTON pub owner is campaigning for a memorial for eight local men who became volunteer soldiers to fight for democracy during the Spanish Civil War.
John Christie, who runs The Golden Smog and two other Stockton pubs, is backing a project to raise £6,500 for a memorial with over £5,000 raised so far.
John grew up knowing nothing about the Teesside men who fought as volunteers in Spain with the International Brigade from 1936-38 to defend the democratic Spanish government against a coup by General Francisco Franco.
John said: “We were never taught about it at school. So I had no idea that men from Stockton and Thornaby fought in Spain. When I asked other Stockton people about it and they didn't know either. I thought that was a shame for the town.”
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Eight volunteers from Stockton and Thornaby joined the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War. They were George Bright, William Carson, Wilfred Cowan, Otto Estensen, Myles Harding, Johnny Longstaff, Patrick Maroney and Bert Overton.
Before the Spanish Civil War, Bert Overton and Myles Harding had both served in the British Army. In later years, Johnny Longstaff served in the British Army and Wilfred Cowan joined the Canadian Army during the Second World War.
In total, 22 men were sent from all over Teesside, and eight lost their lives in Spain.
More than 2,500 men and women from Britain and Ireland volunteered as soldiers, nurses and in other roles, supported by others at home in Britain.
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John Christie added: “Many people in the UK still don't know about local connections or how the Spanish Civil War led up to the Second World War. I started a crowd-funding campaign to raise money for a permanent memorial in Stockton. I want to create something that people cannot miss, to get people talking and asking questions.”
John Christie's Stockton memorial campaign is being supported by Tony Fox, a Billingham history teacher who has written a new book about the Stockton volunteers, titled I Sing Of My Comrades. Tony's book is available at Drake The Bookshop in Stockton or online.
Both John and Tony are members of the International Brigade Memorial Trust (IBMT). The organisation raises awareness of the Spanish Civil War and looks after memorials to British and Irish volunteers.
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The Golden Smog, which opened in 2014, has a host of Teesside memorabilia inside and a large mural outside, featuring the International Brigade's red, yellow and purple flag.
John said: “We get quite a few people coming to see the mural and taking photos. People ask about it, which is good. The colours were those of the democratic Spanish Republic.
“The men who volunteered to go to Spain had nothing to gain, financially or materially. They travelled in very difficult circumstances, fought in a terrible war and many paid with their lives. But they did so for honourable reasons, which is why it's important to remember them.
"Perhaps today western European nations still feel embarrassed about their neutrality during the Spanish Civil War? Whatever the situation may be, I think the war deserves to be widely known-about and also taught in schools.”
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