About this Event
Ninety years ago, a civil war broke out in Spain. The elected government of Republican Spain became involved in a life and death struggle with rebel forces openly supported by Hitler and Mussolini. From the earliest days of the civil war small numbers of British and Irish volunteers went to Spain to fight for the Republican Government, joining improvised and ill-armed revolutionary units. Marshall Mateer, International Brigade Memorial Trust Film Co-Ordinator, will tell their story. Other volunteers from Britain and Ireland were part of the first medical unit to go in support of Republican Spain in August 1936. Chris Hall author of ‘British Volunteers and the Spanish Civil War: ‘The Passionate Cause,’ 1936-39’, will be talking about these volunteers and local medical volunteers who served in Spain.
Chris Hall is a retired Librarian and trade unionist. He has researched and written on military history, specialising in the Spanish Civil War. His previous published works include an account of George Orwell’s fellow British and Irish volunteers. He has written about Manchester nurse Madge Addy, who served in the Spanish Civil War and was a secret agent in occupied France in World War II. His latest book published this year is ‘British Volunteers and the Spanish Civil War: ‘The Passionate Cause,’ 1936-39’, which will be available to purchase on the day.
Marshall Mateer is the Film Co-ordinator of the IBMT (International Brigade Memorial Trust). Films include 'The Brigaders Return!' - a site-specific film presentation in venues around the UK for the 85th anniversary (of the return of the volunteers) in 2024. He is currently working on a film for the 90th Anniversary of the International Brigades. Marshall is currently researching and writing 'The Earliest British and Irish Volunteers (August-September 1936') – see also in 'Not Such a Quiet Front' and 'Ramona' in 'Remembering Spain', edited by Newmark' published in 2023. He is a retired Art/Media Educator living in East Yorkshire. The photomontage used for the event poster was created by Marshall Mateer.
Event venue & nearby stays
Working Class Movement Library (Annex Building), 51 Crescent, Salford, United Kingdom
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