Benidorm - Republican Bunkers on Levante Beach

Before it grew into the mega tourist resort that it is today Benidorm was a small fishing town sitting on the Northern tip of the Bay of Alicante. This strategic location meant that it had a key role to play in any potential sea-borne invasion of the Spanish Republic by combined fascist forces during the Civil War. Six bunkers, forming part of the Mediterranean Wall, were built in and around Benidorm. It was only recently that I found out that one of these, and a fraction of another, still existed when it was reported that the local PSOE were fighting to get them listed and protected. The bunker at the top end of Levante Beach is as extraordinary as it is surprising. It is possible that it has survived so well as it now supports the bar and terrace of the Hotel Nadal above. Thousands of tourists a year must pass over it without any knowledge of the anti-fascist history below their feet. At the other end of Levante, near the Municipal Offices, only the stairs of the other bunker remain and appear to be used now to access the beach. I wish the PSOE well in their efforts to get Benidorm's Republican history preserved and recognised. Apparently contemporary pictures of the town's bunker network still exist. I need to locate try and locate them.

Calpe on the Costa Blanca withdraws honours awarded to Franco

Interesting clip from the local paper about Calpe on the Costa Blanca erasing some of the tributes to Franco awarded to the dictator. This follows moves in Denia just a few miles up the coast some years back to rename streets that honoured the nationalist regime. All of these developments show that the ground is shifting and that local campaigning is making a real difference. It's good, positive news.

Cartagena - the Republican naval base and it's superb Civil War museum

The Republican naval base at Cartagena was, predictably, a major bombing target that was repeatedly battered by Hitler and Mussolini's planes swinging in from the Med.Like other cities along the Costa Blanca that were key targets, the resilience and bravery of the local people is extraordinary. In Cartagena that bravery is marked in a fantastic museum set in an air raid shelter that held over 5000 people. This museum is regarded as a model of the way that historical memory from the Civil War period can be marked. Hewn from rough stone, and with an interactive soundtrack and contemporary film footage dating back to before the 1936, the museum succeeds in its objective of transporting you back in time to get at least a feel and glimpse of what life was like in these communities under repeated fascist bombardment. If you get a chance to make the trip to Cartagena you should take it, not just for the Civil War museum but also to take a look at the extraordinary remains of the Roman ampitheatre excavated in the centre of the town. You will not be disappointed.

At long last - a memorial on Alicante dock side

So, at long last Alicante has its memorial to the Republicans captured at the end of the Civil War on the City's dockside. It has taken decades of struggle, and a seismic shift in the political make up at the City Hall, to enable this to happen some 77 years after the event. It is a sharp and fitting tribute and it's not tucked away in a corner, it is right there on the main portside walk although the backdrop of luxury yachts is a bit incongruous. I was chuffed to see that the International Brigades Memorial Trust had been over for a visit and that Alicante has twinned with Cardiff in memory of the heroic Archibald Dixon, captain of the Stanbrook, who took huge risks to rescue as many refugees as he could. For the rest, it was concentration camps, death and torture. They will now never be forgotten.

An unusual memorial in the heart of Alicante

I had read on line that there was an earlier Civil War memorial in the heart of Alicante that I had walked past numerous times without actually clocking what it was. On the broad boulevard that sweeps down from Lucheros to the sea front it stands at the end of a pedestrianised section butting up against the road. The inscription - which you have to back into a bush to read - honors the memory of all victims of war who fought for what they believe in. The dates are odd - even with the final digit at the end of 194* kicked away. The cross at the top suggests a religious input - I would welcome any further information

Back up to Los Almendros Camp

With the unveiling of the new memorial on the port side at Alicante I decided to take the walk up to Los Almendros along the route that the thousands of Republican prisoners would have been marched by their Italian captors. It takes around half an hour. I had not been up for a while and was pleased to see that that the memorial stands strong and proud although you can see the lumps knocked out of it by the regular fascist attacks. It remains an extraordinary and barren site and you can easily make out the lines of the hills that loom over it today from the few contemporary pictures. Thousands died in the week or so it was open before the prisoners were marched south to San Isidro.Like San Isidro, Los Almendros has never been excavated, that makes little sense as many must have been buried here in mass graves where they fell - some mown down by Italian fascist machine guns. As the tide turns on historical memory Los Almendros is a reminder that there is still a long distance to go.

San Isidro Concentration Camp - an update

Here's an update from San Isidro by Russ who recently got in touch with me. Really pleased that this blog is helping to inspire other people who are researching the area and putting up their own posts. That is what it's for. http://www.anythingbutpaella.com/san-isidros-dark-secret/

A second Civil War air raid shelter is opened up in Alicante

A second of the 96 air raid shelters officially recorded in Alicante from the Civil War era has been opened up and can be visited by the public. On Plaza Dr Balmis it follows on from the network and museum on Plaza Seneca which I looked at on my last visit. When I headed down there it was mid week and I was unable to get in as I think there are guided tours on Friday's and Saturday's only running from 10am til 2pm. This structure has been allocated protected status by the town hall. I hope that other key Civil War sites in the City will gain similar recognition now and that some of the locations I have looked at in this blog will get the memorials that they deserve. Things are moving, slowly, but La Lucha Continua.

Santa Pola beach - another tilt at the Mediterranean Wall

If you are down in Santa Pola I can highly recommend checking out the bar/cafe down by the harbour - Los Curros - that is used by the fishing fleet. You can't miss it and its is superb value and great quality. It's on your left as you head past the big old fishing boat that serves as a memorial to the sea-faring history of this lovely, vibrant town. But just behind it, on the beach and built over as part of the foundations for the harbour wall, you will find half a bunker that is a another remnant from the Mediterranean Wall that stretched along this part of the coast to resist sea-borne nationalist invasion. Smothered in graffiti it serves as another lasting reminder of this areas Civil War history. UPDATE. On a recent return I was pleased to see that the graffiti had been cleaned off, the food and drink was also still superb.