Tuesday 21 April 2015

The Stanbrook and the fall of Alicante

In April of this year a plaque was unveiled in Cardiff, organised by the International Bridages Memorial Trust, to a hero of the Civil War - Archibald Dixon. On March 29 1939 tens of thousands of Republicans assembled on the dock side at Alicante, the last City to fall to Franco, in the hope of evacuation. The evacuation never came, partly due to a blockade by Italian destroyers and partly due to the connivance of the British Government. One ship made it through. The Stanbrook. Due to collect saffron and oranges, Dixon instead chose to overload his ship with 2,638 refugees from the fascists on a vessel just 230 feet long. It was an incredibly brave thing to do. Despite attacks from fascist planes, and listing badly, the Stanbrook made it to Algeria after 22 hours. The French Colonial authorities refused permission to disembark and Dixon had to negotiate for the women, children, elderly and disabled to leave. The men would reamin for over a month with many ending up in concentration camps. Those left behind in Alicante were either murdered or taken to the concentration camp at Los Almendros and later the labour camp at San Isidro. Dixon himself was killed some months later when his ship was torpedoed by a U boat. Although he now rightly has a plaque in Cardiff thanks to the IBMT there is nothing to mark the events of the 29th March 1939 on the dockside at Alicante. Only luxury yachts. That is a scandal that needs to be rectfied and the local campaigners deserve our support in their campaign for a memorial in Alicante.

The air raid shelter musuem inland at Alcoi

Alcoi. I headed inland on the bus from Alicante having heard that there was a museum set into the old Civil War air raid shelter underneath the Art School. As the weather turned thunderous and the bus headed in through the mountains I had a feeling that this trip might well prove to be something special. The museum in Alcoi has very little coverage on the web and it took the assistance of a local cab driver to find it. I was soon glad I had made the trip. Alcoi was a major industrial centre as well as being a rock-solid Republican stonghold. It was battered by the Italians and their SM79 bombers and only had the most limited of anti-aircraft defences. The museum is extraordinary. It looks like much of the structure has survived the last eighty years intact and has been sympathetically converted into a fine museum which is a tribute to the resilience of the people of the town who took shelter here. From the brilliantly recreated medical bay to the striking exhibitions detailing the assault from the air this is truly a moving place to visit if you get the chance. Towards the end of the Civil War Alcoi was hammered by a ruthless coalition of fascist forces testing out the carpet bombing strategy that would soon be hitting London, Paris and other European cities. Scores of innocent people were killed. The very least that the musuem does is ensure that they will never be forgotten.

Friday 17 April 2015

Gran Bar Pomares Altet - a trip back in time

In Altet, right under the flight path into Alicante Airport, you will find a bar that has survived pretty much intact since the days of the Civil War. In fact, Gran Bar Pomares dates back to the late 1920's and is a really atmospheric reminder of those days. The dark interior is cool and quiet on a hot sunny day and a great place to escape the heat. With a few dishes of tapas and a large glass of tinto there are few places I know that are more relaxing whilst conjuring up a timeless feel of the days gone by. I like to think that this would have been a meeting place in the days of the Republic when this whole area was loyal to the Government right to the end and remained staunch in its opposition to Franco and his coup. One warning, the opening hours, particularly during the winter months, can be a bit eratic but if you turn up and its closed, as I have, there are plenty of other fine bars and restaraunts in the small town of Altet.