HISTORIANS are trying to piece together the story of a little-known North-East woman who defied her husband to help children caught up in the Spanish Civil War.

Ruth Pennyman, who lived at Ormesby Hall, in Ormesby, Middlesbrough, went against the wishes of her husband and travelled to Barcelona in the middle of the war to see for herself the plight of refugee children and offer assistance.

Up to 4,000 children were brought to Britain after the Basque Government appealed to foreign nationals to give them temporary asylum during the conflict.

Permission was reluctantly granted, but the Government refused to be responsible financially.

It demanded the newly-formed Basque Children’s Committee guarantee ten shillings a week for the care and education of each child.

It was at this time that Mrs Pennyman persuaded Hutton Hall, in Guisborough, to allow 20 children to live there. She then got local communities to raise money to help support them.

An exhibition is now on display at Ormesby Hall of the story of ‘The Basque Children of ’37… Recuerdos’, which focuses on the Spanish Civil War in 1937.

Liz Hayward, spokeswoman for Ormesby Hall, said: “Mrs Pennyman was the driving force behind the fundraising. The mover and shaker. She got them to hold concert parties to raise money.

“When the time came for the children to return, some of them were allowed to lodge at Ormesby Hall and stayed in the area for a couple of years.

“One of them became the Pennyman footman.”

The exhibition is on display at Ormesby Hall, until July 26.

It is taking place in one of the rooms where the children stayed.

Organisers hope it will shed light on the story in the North-East.

Mrs Hayward added: “We are hoping people can contribute to this story as it has never properly been told and has remained relatively unknown.

“It was a major campaign at the time and thousands of children were involved.”

The secretary of the Basque Children of ’37 Association, Natalia Benjamin, and compiler of the booklet A Suitable Climate, Peter O’Brien, visited Ormesby Hall yesterday to talk about the subject.

The exhibition is open between 1.30pm and 4.30pm, on Saturdays and Sundays.