Figure 1.--Here Lord Mayor of Bristol in 1937 meets some of the Basque refugee children after he had welcomed them to Bristol. They children were accomodated at the old Training Centre in Kingsdown.

The Spanish Civil War was widely reported in Britain and the suffering evoked enormous sympathy. The British Government decided on neutrality despite the massive aid Germany and Italy were providing Franco and the nationalists. Public opinion was, however, on the side of the Republic. The British took in almost 4,000 Basque children. The Basque children sent to England embarked from Santurce, Bilbao, on the Habana (May 21, 1937). The docked at Southampton. Many stayed at Cambria House and Moor Hill House. Different communities cared for them. We see local officials welcoming them, such as the Lord Mayor of Bristol. The children in Bristol were accomodated at the old Training Centre in Kingsdown. The British thought that the children could soon be returned to Spain. We do not have complete details, but apparently about 3,000 of the children were returned to Spain. Franco's Government made it clear to the British Government that the children would be well taken care of. We do not yet have details on the experiebces of the returnees. By the time World War II broke out, there were about 1,000 Spanich children still in Britain. Retuning all of the chilfren proved impossible. Some of the children were eventially sent to the colonies.

Created: 7:29 PM 9/18/2008
Last updated: 7:29 PM 9/18/2008