London SE1 community website

Billy Bragg at International Brigade memorial ceremony

London SE1 website team

Billy Bragg was in Jubilee Gardens on Saturday to lead the singing at the annual wreath-laying at the Spanish Civil War International Brigade Memorial.

Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg performing at the annual commemoration at the International Brigade Memorial
Jack Jones
Jack Jones, president of the International Brigade Memorial Trust
Marlene Sidaway
Actress Marlene Sidaway, secretary of the trust, is appearing in The Enchantment which opens at the National Theatre this week.

The singer, whose father-in-law was a Spanish Civil War refugee, sang Jarama Valley and his own version of the Internationale.

The large crowd was welcomed by Jack Jones, former TGWU union leader and president of the International Brigade Memorial Trust.

Among those laying a wreath was Bernardo Fernandez, counseller at the Spanish Embassy.

Geoff Cowling, former British Consul-General in Barcelona, expressed hope that next year British politicians would be present.

After the names of volunteers who had recently died had been read out it was recalled that Ian Walters, sculptor of the monument (responsible for the nearby sculpture of Nelson Mandela), had also died in the last year.

The SE1 website is supported by people like you
Related forum discussions
We are part of
Independent Community News Network
Email newsletter

For the latest local news and events direct to your inbox every Monday, you need our weekly email newsletter SE1 Direct.

Archive
News archive from February 1999 to January 2001
Got a story for us?
Contact us with your tip-offs and story ideas.