Three men from Abertridwr who fought in the Spanish Civil War will be remembered at a ceremony next month for their heroism.
This year is the 75th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War and a time when thousands of men from across the UK travelled to the country to fight General Franco and his rebellion against the democratically elected government.
One hundred and seventy men from Wales joined the International Brigades’ fight against Franco with three of those men were from Abertridwr.
Jack ‘Russia’ Roberts, Wyndham ‘Windy’ Watkins and Leo Price were unemployed miners and members of the Communist Party and were all active in the struggles against scab unionism and the mine owners.
The three men returned home to Abertridwr in 1938 and a memorial to their heroism can be found at the Nazereth Chapel (Abertridwr Community Centre).
Richard Felstead, Jack’s grandson and author of a biography of the man, will lay wreaths on behalf of the International Brigade Memorial Trust at Abertridwr Community Centre and Senghenydd Cenotaph in memory of the men this November.
No Other Way, a biography of Jack Russia written by Richard Felston, is available from Amazon.co.uk
- Bedwas Councillor Ray Davies recently presented a £100 cheque to Socialist cycling club the Clarion Cyclists.The cyclists came through Cardiff last week as part of its celebrations to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the International Brigades.Cllr Davies said: “They had a tremendous reception from Cor Cochion (the Cardiff Reds Choir) and Welsh members of the International Brigade Memorial Trust, gathering at the monument to Spanish civil war volunteers in Cathays Park.”
The £100 donation went to Arcola theatre’s musical celebration of the International Brigades, called Goodbye Barcelona.
It is good to see these men honoured. I had the pleasure of meeting Jack "Russia" many times in my youth, a nice man. I hope people bear in mind, for many future decades, that men like these recognised the evil represented by the Nazis, fascists, and other nationalists, like Franco, long before the mainstream politicians of the day.
I cherish the memory of hearing these men's accounts in an oral history project at Abertridwr library in 1986. I do hope their words survive, I have not heard anything further about this since.