JAVEA HOSTS TRIBUTE TO INTERNATIONAL BRIGADES
Wednesday 9th November 2011

A group of Javea residents has organized a small tribute to the International Brigades that fought in the Spanish Civil War for Friday 18 November. The event will commence at 7.30 pm in the Casa de la Cultura (Plaza de Baix) and all speeches will be in English and Spanish.

The evening will begin with a talk by Linda Palfreeman, a British historian and writer based in the province of Alicante,  who teaches at the University Cardenal Herrera de Elche. Palfreeman will give a lecture entitled "Health: the British contribution to the Republican medical service during the Spanish Civil War from 1936-1939," a talk which she gave at the Memorial Conference of the International Brigades' Memorial Trust held in March in the Imperial War Museum in London.

Following this, two residents of Javea, Maggie Morgan and John Catanach, will contribute their personal memories about their relatives who fought in Spain with the International Brigades, an organization that united thousands of people from over 50 countries travelling to Spain to fight for the Republic, many of whom died. According to the organizers of the tribute, these brigadiers "came to love Spain as much as their own countries and for this reason, and in recognition of their efforts, the surviving members were granted dual citizenship in 2009.

Today’s generations, both in Spain as well as in the countries that formed the Brigades, "are not aware of the sacrifice these people made for another country," they added, so it is necessary to vindicate their role. In this regard, the organization declares that Javea, "a city with over 80 nationalities, is a very appropriate place to celebrate what was a truly international effort seventy-five years ago."

Source: Press Release - Xŕbia Ajuntament