In May 1937 the SS Habana arrived in Southampton with nearly 4,000 child refugees from the Basque region of Northern Spain. They were escaping the Spanish Civil War and were put into a temporary camp off Chestnut Avenue, North Stoneham until that September.
The Civil War resulted in a victory for General Franco and his fascist supporters over the socialist Republicans. He was Europe’s last dictator from World War 2 on his death in 1975.
There is a plaque to the children at the entrance to the Art Gallery and Library in the Civic Centre. Also in 2022 a memorial plaque and artwork was unveiled in Town Quay Park.
A research project is underway at the University of Birmingham led by Monica Jato to examine how memories of this conflict are passed down the generations.
I recently attended a workshop at Southampton City Art Gallery co-organised by the Basque Children of ‘37 Association (basquechildren.org)
If you are able to help this study with any memories, family stories, photographs, heirlooms, etc then please email Tom Wardle, the Southampton Ambassador for the Basque Children of ‘37 Association on tomwardle94@gmail.com
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