Events

5 December OLDHAM – Special screening of 40-minute film 'The Brigaders Return!' by IBMT Film Coordinator Marshall Mateer, including the Progressive Film Institute's 1938 newsreel 'Welcome to the International Brigade' on the return home of the British Battalion in December 1938; 3pm; Oldham Parish Church , Rock Street, Oldham OL1 3UH; free, donations to the IBMT welcome; more details from Graham Briggs.

5 December BELFAST – Special screening of 40-minute film 'The Brigaders Return!' by IBMT Film Coordinator Marshall Mateer, including the Progressive Film Institute's 1938 newsreel 'Welcome to the International Brigade' on the return home of the British and Irish volunteers from Spain in December 1938; plus a short reading from Matin Lynch's play 'Pictures of Tomorrow' named after a poem by Brigader Charlie Donnelly; 7pm in the Linen Hall Library, 17 Donegall Square N, Belfast BT1 5GB; more details from Lynda Walker.

5 December – ONLINE – Andy Doing, Mike Arnott (IBMT Scotland Secretary) and Rob O’Donnell in discussion; Organised by Paisley & District Trades Union Council and Dundee TUC as part of the Scottish Morning Star’s Our Class Our Culture series; 7pm on Zoom.

Note this event also includes a special screening of the 40-minute film 'The Brigaders Return!' by IBMT Film Coordinator Marshall Mateer, including the Progressive Film Institute's 1938 newsreel 'Welcome to the International Brigade' on the return home of the British and Irish volunteers from Spain in December 1938;

6 December SOUTHAMPTON – Special screening of 40-minute film 'The Brigaders Return!' by IBMT Film Coordinator Marshall Mateer, including the Progressive Film Institute's 1938 newsreel 'Welcome to the International Brigade' on the return home of the British Battalion in December 1938; 7pm-8.30pm; Edmund Kell Hall, Bellevue Road, Southampton SO15 2AY; free, but a collection will be made to support the Morning Star and to refurbish the Southampton International Brigade memorial; organised by the IBMT and the Southampton Morning Star Readers and Supporters Group; for more information contact Alan Lloyd (tel: 07836 764411).

7 December SALFORD – Special screening of 40-minute film 'The Brigaders Return!' by IBMT Film Coordinator Marshall Mateer, including the Progressive Film Institute's 1938 newsreel 'Welcome to the International Brigade' on the return home of the British Battalion in December 1938; 2pm; Working Class Movement Library, 51 Crescent, Salford M5 4WX; free, donations to the IBMT welcome; more details from Stuart Walsh.

7 December LONDON – Special screening of a new 40-minute film, 'The Brigaders Return!’, by IBMT Film Coordinator Marshall Mateer, including the Progressive Film Institute's 1938 newsreel 'Welcome to the International Brigade' on the return home of the British Battalion 85 years ago on 7 December 1938; event jointly organised by the IBMT and the Marx Memorial Library; 5pm, Marx Memorial Library, 37a, Clerkenwell Green, London EC1R 0DU; register on Eventbrite.

7 December MIDDLESBROUGH – Special screening of a new 40-minute film, 'The Brigaders Return!’, by IBMT Film Coordinator Marshall Mateer, including the Progressive Film Institute's 1938 newsreel 'Welcome to the International Brigade' on the return home of the British Battalion 85 years ago on 7 December 1938; plus live Project Lono performance of ‘Romanceros’, a dramatic soundscape featuring poems by Bob Beagle inspired by the Spanish Civil War; 6pm-8pm; Teesside University Library Teesside University, Tees Valley, Middlesbrough TS1 3BX; free admission. Contact Tony Fox for more information.

7 December NEWHAVEN – Meet at Newhaven Harbour railway station at 12pm to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the arrival in Newhaven of the British Battalion on 7 December 1938; for more information contact Pauline Fraser.

7 December LONDON – Wreath-laying at 11am at the International Brigade memorial, Jubilee Gardens, South Bank, Belvedere Road, London SE1 7PG to mark the 85th anniversary of the return of the British Battalion on 7 December 1938; contact Jim Jump for more information.

8 December NEWCASTLE – Special screening of the 40-minute film 'The Brigaders Return!' by IBMT Film Coordinator Marshall Mateer, including the Progressive Film Institute's 1938 newsreel 'Welcome to the International Brigade' on the return home of the British Battalion in December 1938; speeches and music; 7.15pm; Tyneside Irish Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4SG; tickets £5-£10; tickets available online.

9 December MANCHESTER – Special screening of 40-minute film 'The Brigaders Return!' by IBMT Film Coordinator Marshall Mateer, including the Progressive Film Institute's 1938 newsreel 'Welcome to the International Brigade' on the return home of the British Battalion in December 1938; 2pm; Central Methodist Hall, Oldham Street, Manchester M1 1JQ; free, donations to the IBMT welcome; more details from IBMT Trustee Dolores Long.

12 December DUNDEE – At 11am: commemoration on the steps of the Caird Hall (City Square, Dundee DD1 3BB) to mark the rally held there exactly 85 years before to welcome home the last of Dundee’s Brigaders. At 12:30pm: special screening at Dundee Contemporary Arts (152 Nethergate, Dundee DD1 4DY) of 40-minute film 'The Brigaders Return!' by IBMT Film Coordinator Marshall Mateer, including the Progressive Film Institute's 1938 newsreel 'Welcome to the International Brigade' on the return home of the British and Irish volunteers from Spain in December 1938; free; booking online (do not contact the DCA box office; more details from Mike Arnott.

13 December DOVER – Unveiling of a plaque to the International Brigade volunteers from the Dover area; 3.30pm at the offices of RMT: Maritime House, 178/180 Snargate Street, Dover CT17 9BZ; with speeches, music and poetry; supported by the South East Kent Trades Union Council; for more information contact Tom Millard.

19 December ONLINE – Meirian Jump, Director of the Marx Memorial Library, will be speaking about British volunteers in the Spanish Civil War as part of the Trade Union and Working Class History course run by the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU); 7pm-8.30pm; free; sign up online and catch up with previous talks on YouTube.

19 January LIVERPOOL – ‘Five Things You (Almost Certainly) Didn't Know About the Spanish Civil War’: Author David Ebsworth talks about the Spanish Civil War – the background to three of his novels – with a focus on local links, Franco's use of battlefield tourism as a propaganda tool, the bizarre role of the British Establishment and the final days of the Spanish Republic. 7pm-9pm at MerseyMade, 99 Paradise Street, Liverpool L1 3HJ. The talk is free, and there is an optional four-course serving of freshly-prepared tapas for £27.50. Reservations must be made for the talk and the food.

22-25 February MADRID – Annual commemoration of the Battle of Jarama organised by the AABI Association of Friends of the International Brigades. See full programme.