Oxford Spanish Civil War memorial

The Oxford Spanish Civil War memorial is a monument in Oxford dedicated to the 31 known local residents who fought in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) against Nationalist forces. Erected and unveiled in 2017, the memorial is located close to South Park, near the base of Headington Hill by the junction of Headington Road and Morrell Avenue.[1] The memorial is dedicated to all the volunteers with links to Oxfordshire who supported the Republicans and inscribed onto the front are the names of the six volunteers in the International Brigades who were killed during the war.

Oxford Spanish Civil War memorial
Oxford, England
For International Brigades
Unveiled10 June 2017
Location
East Oxford, Headington Hill
Designed byCharlie Carter
Burials by war
"In memory of the 31 men and women of Oxfordshire who defended democracy and fought fascism in the Spanish Civil War 1936–39 and the people of the County who gave them support. Six were killed in action."
'We came because our open eyes could see no other way.' C Day Lewis

Although the memorial was dedicated to 31 people local people who fought in Spain, historians have since discovered two more. One of them was Charlie Hutchison, the only known black man among the approximate 2,500 antifascist volunteers from the British Isles, and the other a German-Jewish refugee called Liesel Carritt.

Commemorated dead

On the front of the memorial, the names of the six killed are inscribed:

Background

During the Spanish Civil War, 29 British people with connections to Oxfordshire joined the International Brigades, with two others joining POUM. Most of the volunteers were communist activists, and many had links to Britain's Jewish communities. Alongside organisations raising funds for Spanish humanitarian causes, Oxford was a hub for anti-fascist activism, homes within the county housed hundreds of Basque refugee children. Various physical fights broke out between anti-fascist activists and the Oxford University Fascist Association,[2] with Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) activist Abe Lazarus successfully organising Oxford students to break up fascist meetings. Many of the local anti-fascist volunteers who survived and returned became influential in various professions including professors, surgeons, human rights activists and trade union leaders.

Oxfordshire was a hub for anti-fascist and Spanish Republican activism during the 1930s, with links to activists including; Olympic gold medalist, Lewis Clive, founder of Britain's first union for working class nurses Thora Silverthorne, biographer of Lenin and Genghis Khan Ralph Winston Fox, photographer Alec Wainman, the only CPGB communist to sit in the House of Lords Baron Milford, Communist organiser and filmmaker Carl Marzani, Communist leader Claud Cockburn, Marxist historian Tom Wintringham, and journalist Giles Romilly.

The six volunteers who died during the war are named on the front, however the monument was built to commemorate all 31 known volunteers with links to Oxfordshire. Since the monument's construction in 2017 two more historical figures have been discovered, including the German-Jewish refugee Liesel Carritt, and the black-British anti-fascist Charlie Hutchison.

Planning and council conflict

In 2014 an appeal was launched to raise funds for a memorial to be built within Oxford to honour International Brigade volunteers with links to Oxfordshire.[3] Much of the funding for the memorial was generated by the sale of the book No Other Way: Oxfordshire and the Spanish Civil War 1936–39, a compilation of research by several local historians with oversight from Oxford University professor Tom Buchanan.[4] Other sources of funding included branches organisations including the Labour party, Green Party, Communist Party of Britain, National Union of Journalists, Unison, Trades Union Congress, and educational institutions including Ruskin College and The Queen's College.[5]

The current location was settled on after Oxford City Council rejected proposals for the monument to be erected within Oxford city centre, with Liberal Democrat councillors opposing all the suggested locations. The creation of the monument was also opposed by heritage groups, including the Oxford Preservation Trust because it was felt to be out of character with the surrounding conservation area and the London Place Residents' Association.[6] The current placement of the memorial was the third proposed location, with the previous two having their planning applications rejected by Oxford City Council.[7] Some objected to the memorial because it did not honour "both sides... in a spirit of reconciliation and forgiveness", and called the design "aggressive towards the memory of the victims of conflict".[8] Liberal Democrat councillor Elizabeth Wade opposed each proposed location for a monument in Oxford, although she claimed she was never opposed in principle. She described the second proposal on St Giles' near Oxford's First and Second World War memorials as “aggressive and triumphalist”.[9] Describing herself as a historian and speaking to the Oxford Mail, she then opposed the third and current location because she believed a monument with a red flag would glorify communism, despite no red flag ever being proposed to appear on the monument.[6] A writer in the communist Morning Star labelled opponents of the memorial as NIMBYs.[10]

See also

References
  1. Jenkins, Stephanie (10 June 2017). "Oxford International Brigade". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  2. Farman, Chris; Rose, Valery; Woolley, Liz (2015). No Other Way: Oxfordshire and the Spanish Civil War 1936–39. UK: Oxford International Brigade Memorial Committee. pp. 41–42. ISBN 9781-910448-052.
  3. "Memorial appeal for Oxford Spanish Civil War volunteers". BBC. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  4. "Oxfordshire's involvement in the Spanish Civil War discussed at upcoming talk". Oxford.gov.uk. 14 October 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  5. Farman, Chris; Rose, Valery; Woolley, Liz (2015). No Other Way: Oxfordshire and the Spanish Civil War 1936–39. London: Oxford International Brigade Memorial Committee. pp. II.
  6. Oliver, Matt (27 February 2017). "Plans for Oxford memorial to Spanish Civil War volunteers clears key hurdle". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  7. French, Andy (20 April 2017). "Date set to unveil Spanish Civil War memorial". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  8. "Spanish Civil War memorial stone approved". BBC. 22 February 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  9. "IBMT Newsletter issue 41" (PDF). international brigades. 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  10. James, Luke (6 November 2016). "Nimbys block nod to heroes of Spain civil war in Oxford: Memorial to anti-fascist fighters 'too triumphalist' for some". The Morning Star. Retrieved 29 December 2020.

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