Hundreds of people gathered at the Old Spotted Dog Ground on Saturday to witness the unveiling of a memorial to 16 local men who went to fight against fascism in Spain from 1936-39.
It was a proud day which represented the culmination of years of hard work, set in motion by Clapton Community FC (CCFC) members and the International Brigades Memorial Trust (IBMT) back in 2019.
The Newham International Brigades Memorial now takes pride of place in our ground in front of a new mural in the colours of the Second Spanish Republic.
It’s a fitting tribute to the ordinary heroes who risked their lives (and potential imprisonment for those who did return to London) in defence of freedom and the ideals of the Spanish Republic.
The memorial, created by the brilliant Rodwell Memorials from Manor Park, and paid for using funds from our away shirt sales, is inscribed with a poem by International Brigades volunteer, David Marshall.
This being CCFC, we couldn’t let the unveiling pass without something special.
A glorious spring day saw Clapton fans, relatives of IB volunteers, and representatives from trade unions and the IBMT gather in front of the memorial for an afternoon of speeches, music, and celebration. The backdrop could hardly have been more appropriate: a kaleidoscopic sea of Palestinian flags, trade union banners and Spanish Republican red, yellow and purple.
The ceremony kicked off with speeches from CCFC members and Marlene Sidaway and Jim Jump from IBMT, delivering poignant reminders of the bravery and sacrifice of the Newham volunteers and all who fought for Spain.
Following poetry performed by East 15 Acting School, Marlene, whose partner David Marshall fought with the International Brigades in Spain, unveiled the memorial to loud cheers. After a minute’s silence to remember those who gave their lives for freedom, the ceremony closed with a tribute to current anti-fascist prisoners from East 15 Acting School and music from Billy Bragg (yes, that Billy Bragg).
Few who were there are likely to forget the experience of a mass sing-along to Battle of Barking, Jarama Valley, The Internationale, and Woody Guthrie’s All You Fascists Bound to Lose, as the sun beamed down on East London.
Billy told the crowd: “I want to thank Clapton Community Football Club and the International Brigades Memorial Trust for inviting me to come along this afternoon. It gives me the opportunity not only to show my solidarity with you all but also to do some of what we refer to as ‘Woody’s work’. Woody Guthrie did a lot of these gigs.
“…About the fight against fascism in the East End… I was very proud of being involved in the fight against the British National Party in Dagenham in 2010. We didn’t only defeat in the council and member of parliament election, we delivered to them a blow that proved to be fatal.”
“Another reason why I very much wanted to be here today: my father-in-law was evacuated from Madrid in 1936. He had an English father and a Spanish mother. My son Jack here today [singer Jack Valero], De Valero is part of his name, his Spanish heritage. So it means a huge amount to me and my family for us to be here to be part of today’s dedication.”
Thank you to Marlene Sidaway, Jim Jump, the IBMT, East 15 Acting school, Billy Bragg, Rodwell memorials, Newham Bookshop, CCFC members and, of course, everyone who attended for a truly special day.
We’d also like to mention the volunteers from blood cancer charity DKMS, who led a donor registration drive at the ground. It was heartening to see so many CCFC fans answering the call to tackle blood cancer head-on. Thank you to everyone who signed up.
After all that, it was easy to forget there was still a football match to be played. And it didn’t disappoint. A record crowd of 1,432 watched CCFC battle to a hard-fought 1-1 draw with title-chasing Forest Hill Park.
A word of thanks to their travelling support, who contributed to a raucous atmosphere fitting for the occasion. Best of luck to them (and the other three teams, we’re staying neutral…) in the play-offs.
We give the final word to David Marshall, whose poem now adorns the monument at our ground:
Madrid the magnet that drew us all
Among slow roads – at last a star
For desperate men sensing a gathering storm
And we fought to warn a watching world
Were called false prophets by appeasers
Yet we fought for the poor of the world
Anti-fascism is part of the soul of Clapton Community Football Club (CCFC). From the early years of the Clapton Ultras fan group, to our now famous away shirt and work in the community, it’s a commitment that runs through everything the club does. After all, as CCFC member Kevin Blowe put it during his speech: “An anti-fascist is not something you are, it’s something you do.”
No pasaran, now and always.
The 16 Newham men who went to Spain
The memorial pays special tribute to those from the area around the Old Spotted Dog who made that journey, whether to take up arms or to tend to the wounded. The details of those with a link to the local area are given below, along with their dates of birth and death, as well as any known political or trades union affiliations. Lost records as well as changes in the boundaries and administration of the area means that our list may have some omissions.
Newham was not created until 1965 and births before that would have been registered to the borough of West Ham. Volunteers born in the area may also have only been known by their last address before signing up.
If you do know of any further volunteers from the area then please let us know, or inform the International Brigade Memorial Trust on admin@international-brigades.org.uk. You can search for further volunteers in the IBMT database.
Fred Adams
1911-1994
Transport & General Workers’ Union
Born in West Ham, Fred Adams was a builder’s labourer, who fought at the Battle of Jarama in February 1937. He received two thigh wounds and was repatriated on medical grounds after eight months in Spain.
Joseph Caleno
1912-1963
Communist Party
Originally a boot repairer by trade, Leicester-born Joe Caleno spent 13 months in Spain and was cited for bravery at the Battle of Brunete. He was sent home after sustaining an injury, and in 1939 he was living and working in West Ham Lane, Stratford, as a shopkeeper and tobacconist.
Percy Cohen
1901-1974
Transport & General Workers’ Union
Stratford-born Percy Cohen served as an ambulance driver in Spain for 18 months, before being repatriated in August 1938. His occupation was given as a provision merchant.
Max Colin
1912-1997
Young Communist League
Born in Stepney, Max Colin lived in Rosebery Avenue, Newham. He was a driver and mechanic, serving in that capacity for 10 months in Spain. He was wounded at the Battle of Brunete in the summer of 1937.
Charles Cormack
1912-1938
Communist Party
Born in Forest Gate, where he lived in Vansittart Road, Charles Cormack was killed on 27 August 1938 in the Battle of the Ebro on his 26th birthday. He had been in Spain for five months. He worked as a driver before joining the International Brigades.
James Cormack
1910-1991
Communist Party
James was the brother of Charles Cormack and lived in the same house on Vansittart Road. The pair arrived together in Spain in March 1938. The Lambeth-born painter was wounded in the Battle of the Ebro in August 1938, losing three fingers. He returned home four months later and then lived in Field Road, Forest Gate.
Cecil Cranfield
1906-1976
Labour Party
A former lightweight amateur boxing champion, Cecil Cranfield was born in Camberwell and worked as a salesman. When he joined the International Brigades, his address was given as Romford Road, Forest Gate. He was a machine-gunner in Spain, where he remained for eight months, and was wounded in January 1938 at the Battle of Teruel.
George Degude
1910-1937
Communist Party
Born in West Ham, George Degude lived at Newington Hall Villas, Church Street, Stoke Newington. He arrived in Spain in February 1937 and was an ambulance driver. He sustained a fatal head injury at the Battle of Brunete in July 1937 and died soon afterwards.
Edward Dickinson
1903-1937
Industrial Workers of the World
Born in Grimsby, Edward Dickinson was a salesman who gave his address as Upton Lane, Forest Gate. He arrived in Spain in December 1936 and was captured at the Battle of Jarama in February 1937 while second-in-command of the British Battalion’s machine-gun company. He was shot on 13 March 1937 after protesting over the shooting of a fellow prisoner.
Gerrard Doyle
1907-1970
Communist Party
Limerick-born driver and moulder Gerrard Doyle served in Spain for 17 months and was wounded in fighting at Jarama and at Brunete, in February and July of 1937. In March 1938 he was captured at Calaceite and held at the prisoner of war camp at San Pedro de Cardeña, near Burgos, until returning home in October 1938 in a prisoner exchange with Italian troops. He gave his address as Vale Road, Forest Gate.
Thomas Duncombe
1913-1938
Communist Party, National Union of General & Municipal Workers
Born in West Ham, Thomas Duncombe gave an address at Rosher Road, Stratford, when he arrived in Spain in February 1938. He was a labourer and was listed as missing, presumed killed, at Gandesa on 3 April of that year.
Leslie Huson
1907-1938
Communist Party, Transport & General Workers’ Union
Metallurgist Leslie Huson was born in West Ham and emigrated to Canada when he was 18, but had returned home and was living in Clerkenwell when he joined the International Brigades in February 1938. He survived for only two months, dying of pneumonia in hospital in Valls, Catalonia.
David Marshall
1916-2005
Young Communist League
David Marshall, a civil servant from Middlesbrough, was one of the first volunteers in Spain. Arriving in Spain in August 1936, he was wounded at Cerro de los Ángeles, near Madrid, and repatriated in January 1937. After service in the British Army, he became a set designer and carpenter with Joan Littlewood’s theatre company at Stratford’s Theatre Royal, eventually settling in Forest Gate. He lived in Reginald Road, close to West Ham Park, where there is a memorial bench to him.
John O’Connor
1915-1999
Communist Party, National Union of Railwaymen
Steel fixer John O’Connor was born in Poplar and was living on Upton Lane, Forest Gate when he volunteered, arriving in Spain in February 1938. He was in the International Brigades for 10 months, serving as a cartographer and lookout with the British Battalion at the Battle of the Ebro in the summer of 1938.
Pat O’Mahoney
1890-Unknown
Canadian-born Pat O’Mahoney was a veteran of the First World War who lived in Geere Road, Stratford. He was a nurse/masseur and arrived in Spain in February 1937. He was wounded at the Battle of Jarama later that month and sent home in May 1937.
Gordon Siebert
1910-1990
Labour Party
Gordon Siebert was a clerk, born in West Ham. He arrived in Spain in October 1937 and did not return home until the end of the Spanish Civil War in April 1939, having been imprisoned for disciplinary offences.