La Pasionaria: the fading icon

Once a vibrant, glowing symbol and the inspiration of the Scots of the
International Brigade, overlooked, crumbling La Pasionaria seems to appeal to the sky

The slim but forceful arms which reach out to the heavens once symbolised a rallying call to defend the world against the forces of fascism. Today, however, the statue in Glasgow of Spanish Communist Party leader Dolores Ibarruri, known as La Pasionaria (passion flower), appears to be making an appeal for her own restoration.

Commissioned exactly 30 years ago today in tribute to the Scots of the International Brigade who fought and died in the Spanish Civil War between July 1936 to April 1939, La Pasionaria is now dull and weatherbeaten. Once the fibreglass figure overlooking the Clyde shimmered and glowed in perfect imagery of the dynamic woman it represented. Now it’s mildewed and worn and oxidisation of the steel base has resulted in crumbling and discolouration.

La Pasionaria, created by Liverpool sculptor Arthur Dooley, also a Communist, marks the legacy of 550 Scots who left their homeland to fight in the Spanish Civil War against Franco’s fascist forces.

Professor Willy Maley, whose father James Maley fought in the Spanish Civil War, said: “It’s important we remind people she’s there and she has to be looked after. But I do know that once people read about Dolores and the work of the International Brigadiers they are fascinated. I know of Americans coming to the city to find out about its legacy, students write dissertations about the Brigadiers. This is a door we can’t allow to close. It’s too great a reminder of what the city once stood for. It’s our legacy.”

The statue, commissioned by the International Brigade Association, is not an official war memorial and Glasgow Councillor John McKenzie is battling to ensure it is restored to its former glory.

He said: “I watched a recent STV documentary about the International Brigade: The Scots Who Fought Franco, and I felt tearful at the realisation that so many young Scots had given their lives. Perhaps I’m being romantic but I believe they should be remembered, and I’ve written to our chief executive and the STUC to ask for funding. This is a project I will continue to work on. La Pasionaria should stand proud in Glasgow and I aim to make sure future generations get the chance to appreciate all that she symbolised.”

Nowadays, most young Scots know nothing of the International Brigade, far less a tarnished old statue at Custom House Quay. But those young people would also find it hard to imagine that hundreds of Britons left their homeland in 1936 to fight Franco’s forces, with 65 Scots losing their lives.

Ibarruri lived in exile in Moscow until the death of General Franco, returning to Spain in 1977 where she was re-elected to parliament at the age of 81. However, Willy Maley maintains that La Pasionaria is a Glasgow icon, to be discovered by future generations.

He said: “We’ve never really acknowledged our socialist heroes, so it’s not surprising we don’t have a statue in George Square of John McLean marking Red Clydeside or indeed that La Pasionaria is located off the beaten track, although there was talk at one time of her taking up a position in George Square.”

A spokesman for Liverpool Academy Of Arts, which displays several of Arthur Dooley’s works, said it was “hugely disappointing” that the sculptor’s work in Glasgow is disintegrating.

“We really hope his work doesn’t fall into disrepair,” he said. “Arthur was a visionary, a great talent and a champion for the common man. His work deserves all the recognition it can get.”

Glasgow has few public testaments to its radical history. The statue of La Pasionaria at Custom House Quay on Clyde Street is a striking exception. It is fitting that such a tribute to the astonishing contribution made by its citizens to the struggle against fascism in Spain should take the shape of the woman from the Basque country, Dolores Ibarruri, known universally as La Pasionaria for her fiery rhetoric, which inspired many who made the journey across the Pyrenees.

It was hearing La Pasionaria on the radio that inspired my father, James Maley, a Communist from Glasgow’s east end, to go to Spain.

The sculptor Arthur Dooley was also a Communist. A Liverpudlian, he is best known for his sculpture of The Beatles in his hometown, which depicts the Madonna cradling the band with the inscription: “Four lads who shook the world.” Dooley had a few church commissions and there is a religious feel to La Pasionaria’s imploring arms. She is a Madonna figure and the men and women she salutes also shook the world.

Seven decades on from the end of the Spanish Civil War, exactly 30 years after the statue was commissioned, a year after the last of the Scottish volunteers for liberty has passed away, La Pasionaria still watches over Red Clydeside, reminding us of a radical history of political commitment, urging us to be vigilant and guard against a return of the fascist threat.

The recent electoral successes of the BNP and the emergence of the English and Scottish Defence leagues have drawn comparisons with the rise of fascism in the 1930s. Such comparisons are not idle. Scotland has a notable record of anti-fascist activity in that period and since, including a strong contribution to the International Brigades who fought for the beleaguered Spanish Republic. If that era of commitment appears long gone, that is only because decades of corruption and complacency have conspired to belittle and undermine the achievements of the radical left.

This monument stands as a reminder of the anti-fascist struggles of the past, and a reminder too of the threat of fascism in the present.

Willy Maley is professor of renaissance studies at Glasgow University

The Herald

A band of brothers that fought for freedom

Sam (back row, centre) with other British volunteers, (clockwise from back row right) Peter Kerrigan, Ted Edwards, Bob Cooney, Alan Gilchrist, Paddy O’Daire and George Fletcher.

THEY left their homes and families to risk their lives fighting for the freedom of a foreign land. Sixty-six working men from Manchester travelled to Spain in the 1930s to join the international brigades determined to stop the rise of Franco’s fascists.

Ultimately, their efforts were in vain but their sacrifice has never been forgotten. This week marks the 70th anniversary of the defeat of the republican forces in the Spanish Civil War. As Manchester prepares to remember the sacrifice made by those in the name of liberty, the Reporter spoke to the family of Sam Wild one of the heroes who fought for a better world ...

FOR many working men in Manchester it was a battle for the future of Europe.

In 1936, together with thousands of volunteers from all over the world, they travelled to Spain to join the International Brigades to fight against rebel Spanish Nationalist forces, led by General Francisco Franco and assisted by Nazi German and Fascist Italian forces.

Impassioned by the fight against fascism taking place in Spain, scores of Mancunians voluntarily joined a special international regiment in a quest to achieve worldwide democracy.

Along with many other ‘ordinary’ men from Manchester, Sam Wild, played a major role during the Spanish Civil War.

He received the highest accolade for his gallant efforts as the last commander of the British Battalion of the International Brigade and continued to fight - even while injured - until they were forced to lay down their weapons.

His daughter, Dolores Long, from Whalley Range, grew up inspired by the selfless involvement of her father and more than sixty other Manchester residents who fought side-by-side with the Spanish Republican Forces in the 1930s.

Her mother was also involved in the Aid to Spain movement, raising money to send food and provisions to the troops.

Named after Dolores Ibarruri, a revolutionary leader who made a passionate speech thanking the International Brigades as they withdrew from the battle, Dolores Long and her siblings have their parents’ story forever ingrained in their minds.

She said: "My father, like the other volunteers were proud and political men.

"It was their instinct to go and fight. They did so to stop the rise of fascism because they could see the way that things were going. I’ve always thought what a brave and heroic thing it was to go and volunteer."

Sam, born in Ardwick to an Irish Immigrant in 1908, had grown up attending rallies at Stephenson Square to listen to speakers calling for the home rule of Ireland.

It was injustice he felt when he later joined the Navy, and the extreme poverty he encountered in places like South Africa, coupled with his political passion he felt on his return from sea, which made him sign up to help the Spanish struggle.

More than 2,000 Brits joined the International Brigades and their fight was well documented by Ernest Hemingway and George Orwell, who fought on the Aragon Front in support of the Workers’ Party of Marxist Unification.

Teacher Dolores, 65, said: "My father was an unskilled worker who left school early. He joined the Navy because he was short of money and it was then where he noticed the differences in the way the officers were treated in comparison to the other recruits."

"The British Battalion wasn’t a conscripted army, those who went to Spain did so to stop the rise of fascism. It was very often working class people who signed up to fight and, in my father’s case, it was the principle he felt was at stake which made him stay for two years."

Sam, who lived in Longsight, fought in a number of battles, including the infamous Battle of Ebro in July 1938. He even continued to fight with an injured right hand and was rewarded with the Republic’s highest decoration for bravery, the Spanish Medal of Valour - the equivalent of the Victoria Cross. He was also on the frontline in Aragon and took part in the Battle of Jarama in between Madrid and Valencia.

A blue plaque commemorating his achievements is now mounted on the old family home on Birch Hall Lane, between Longsight and Fallowfield.

Before leaving, Sam Wild was quoted as saying "The British Battalion is prepared to carry on the work begun here to see to it that our 500 comrades who sleep for ever beneath Spanish soil shall serve as an example to the entire British people in the struggle against fascism."

To those who fought in the anti-fascist struggle - a precursor to World War II and the rise of Hitler - the Spanish Civil War was a social revolution that united workers, helped in the strengthening of trade unions and started powerful campaigns.

Dolores added: "My mother and father let me make up my own mind about things, they never forced their beliefs on me, but I was always aware of the things they had done which influenced me to become involved in various campaigns. It’s been a big part of my life. Growing up on a 1950s Manchester council estate with a name like Dolores was no easy thing!"

Poets, speakers and musicians will gather to pay homage to the anti-fascist international volunteers, on the anniversary of the withdrawal of the International Brigade from Spain 70 years ago.

Poet Jackie Kay, actress Maxine Peake, Celtic folk band The Wakes and playwright Eileen Murphy, will feature at the event in the Mechanics Institute, Princess Street, on Saturday, November 8.

Dolores, a passionate political campaigner, often reads the emotive speech made by her namesake at memorial events.

This week Dolores and her sister Hilary attended a special ceremony in Barcelona, where the surviving Brigaders and all the other men and women who assisted during the Civil War will be honoured by the Spanish Government.

She said: "It is far more than just being about my father, it is about all the other men and women who were involved in the Civil War.

"I have been fortunate to meet many of them over the years, it has been amazing - they were such an inspiring group of people."

Tickets for the Manchester commemorative concert can be paid for on the door, priced £10, £5 concessions. For details visit www.international-brigades.org.uk.

South Manchester Reporter

US leader in Spanish Civil War dies at 92

The last American commander of anti-Fascist forces during the Spanish Civil War – who befriended Ernest Hemingway during the conflict – has died.

Milton Wolff, 92, died on Monday of heart failure in Berkeley, California, according to Peter Carroll, the chairman of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives, an organisation devoted to preserving the history of North American volunteers in the war.

While in Spain, Mr Wolff met Hemingway, who was writing about the conflict, and the author served him his first ever Scotch. Hemingway described Mr Wolff as being "tall as Lincoln, gaunt as Lincoln, and as brave and as good a soldier as any that commanded battalions at Gettysburg".

"He is alive and unhit by the same hazard that leaves one tall palm tree standing where a hurricane has passed," he said.

Born in New York City on 7 October, 1915, Mr Wolff was only 21 when he stepped off the soapboxes in his native city, where he defended his Communist views, and into the Spanish war. By the time he was 22, he was the ninth leader of what was known as the Lincoln Brigade, which fought to support Spain's elected socialist government against General Francisco Franco.

About 3,000 Americans fought in volunteer battalions in Spain and more than 900 were killed. About 40 are still alive today.

Soon after the American fighters returned home on 15 December, 1939, Madrid fell to the Fascists, and the war was over. But Mr Wolff never stopped fighting for what he considered worthy causes, including integration in baseball, and against the Vietnam War.

He is survived by his daughter, Susan Wallis, son Peter Wolff, four grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

The Scotsman