The destruction of the town of Guernica by Nazi planes under the direction of Francisco Franco in April 1937 saw the Basque government appeal to foreign nations to give temporary asylum to children. An old steamship designed to carry 800 passengers was loaded with 3,840 children set sail for Southampton Docks. Over the following weeks the children were sent to 90 locations across Britain which had been organised by churches, trade unions and private individuals.
On September 17 1937, 24 children aged between five and 15 arrived at Montrose Station where they were greeted by a number of the charities. A sign stating ‘Viva Espano Salud’ greeted the children. At the end of April 1938, nine children were returned to their parents in Bilbao but they were replaced by others who had either been orphaned or whose parents were themselves, refugees.
As tokens of their appreciation for their happy stay almost 50 years earlier, the former refugees presented Angus Council with a silver plaque from Bilbao and a silver salver from the Province of Biscay.
Surely, the desperate need still exists today to help refugees and the compassion expressed by the folk of Montrose can easily be repeated.
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