MORE than 100 people gathered to remember a Bolton war hero who was killed fighting fascism in Spain.
A new memorial plaque was unveiled in the town centre last weekend to honour James Alwyn and the other volunteers who left their homes and jobs to fight in the Spanish Civil War. The plaque, on the wall of the Bolton Socialist Club in Wood Street, was accompanied by an exhibition showcasing Bolton’s numerous connections to the conflict, which lasted from 1936 to 1939.
Mr Alwyn is thought to be the only International Brigade volunteer from Bolton who was killed in the conflict, although little is known about him other than the fact that he died at the Battle of Jarama in February 1937.
Maria Luisa Toole, a 92-year-old Basque refugee who was sent to England aged 11 and later moved to Bolton, unveiled the plaque at a ceremony on Saturday.
It reads: “This plaque is dedicated to the brave volunteers from Bolton who fought for democracy against fascism in Spain 1936-1939, including James Alwyn who died in February 1937 at the Battle of Jarama.
“‘They came because their open eyes could see no other way.’”
Lisa Croft, of the International Brigade Memorial Trust (IBMT), put together the exhibition and helped organise the memorial in conjunction with the Socialist Club and Bolton Trades Council.
She said: “It was a really good day. We had about 120 people turn up to see the plaque and the exhibition, which was great.
“It was a really successful event. Everyone was very interested in the exhibition, especially some of the old photos from the Bolton Evening News that we had managed to find.
“People had turned up from all over Yorkshire and the North West just to come and see this plaque.”
Mrs Toole, whose family members also attended the unveiling at the Socialist Club, was presented with flowers by Manuel Moreno of the Basque Children’s Association.
She and her elder brother were the last two of almost 4,000 children to board the SS Habana to the UK during the war and were originally settled in Cambridge.
Other International Brigade volunteers who either lived or were born in Bolton include Joseph William Moran, Philip Neville Harker, John Kremner, and Henry Saunders Bury.
Former Bolton bar owner Pedro Cuadrado, who died in 2010, was also conscripted into the Republican army fighting General Franco as a teenager living near Barcelona.
The ceremony on Saturday also included talks by Charles Jepson of the IBMT and Martin McMulkin, secretary of the Bolton TUC, as well as musical performances by the Clarion Choir and singer Joe Solo.
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