IBMT member Robert Hargreaves reports on the campaign for a new memorial in North West England …
Proud Salford, for so long overshadowed by the adjacent city of Manchester, is fired up to reclaim its place in the history of the British Battalion and the Spanish Civil War.
At least 30 men and women from greater Salford served in the International Brigades. Ten did not return, and many were wounded. Now, North West IBMT stalwart Barrie Eckford is determined to mark their place in history with a new memorial that will remind future generations of the sacrifices made by brave volunteer Salfordians.
Barrie Eckford addresses the Salford Histories Festival.
Barrie, a retired UNITE the Union member, has teamed up with Salford councillor and UNITE official Jack Youd to spearhead a fund-raising campaign for the memorial. The key element in the campaign is a social media crowdfunding appeal under the auspices of Salford City Council. Including a generous £1,000 donation from the UNITE service branch, the crowdfund has already raised almost £2,000. Moreover, with Jack’s support, Salford’s Mayoral Fund has undertaken to match the donations made from other sources.
Addressing an enthusiastic meeting of Salfordians in the council chamber, as part of the city’s Histories Festival, Barrie spoke of the special contribution Salford citizens made to the defence of the beleaguered Spanish Republic in the face of Franco’s military onslaught on democracy. Said Barrie: 'The people of Salford were politically aware. They had borne deprivation and unemployment with magnificent courage and had witnessed the threat of fascism as Mosley’s blackshirts stalked their streets. When Franco launched his attack on the democratically elected government of Spain, these men and women told themselves: we will fight!'
Councillor Jack Youd.
In turn, Cllr Youd explained his dedication to the cause of a memorial: 'I have always been an anti-fascist. My concerns brought me into contact with the IBMT. It goes without saying that I am a passionate Salfordian, and looking back at the history of our city, I feel that the Brigaders helped to give us our unique identity.'
Jack’s wife, Charlotte, also a councillor, echoed these sentiments. 'Yes, it’s about our history and identity, and that means our children’s future as well.' She added that the city remembers with pride not only the Salford Brigaders but also its citizens who made huge sacrifices to contribute to Spanish Aid and food ships, as well as those who welcomed and cared for many of the Basque children evacuated from Spain at the height of the war.
Supporting Barrie Eckford (centre), IBMT volunteers, from left to right, Rob Hargreaves, Stuart Walsh, Stephanie Turner and Ben Perry.
Another key contributor to the project is Ben Perry, a post-graduate research student at York University whose research has retrieved wide-ranging facts about individual Brigaders. “The IBMT Volunteer database has been invaluable’, said Ben, who helped man the IBMT stall at the festival.
Stuart Walsh (left) and Barrie Eckford (right) with Salford Deputy Mayor, Cllr Heather Fletcher.
The campaign for a Salford memorial, envisaged as an obelisk bearing the names of the city’s volunteers, in the square adjacent to the Working Class Memorial Library (WCML), has the support of the mayor, Cllr Paul Dennett, Salford Trades Union Council, numerous community groups such as the Ordsall Community and Arts Centre, and the WCML itself.
Donations to the crowdfund can be made via the crowdfunding campaign.