Do You Know About the Basque Child Refugees of 1937? - Carmen Sanchez-Kilner
In 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, a group of almost 4000 children was evacuated from Bilbao in the Basque region of Spain. They embarked on Friday May 21st and docked at Southampton on Sunday May 23rd. Initially accommodated in Eastleigh, these child-refugees were eventually dispersed to many colonies throughout the country, including in West Yorkshire. The drive to intervene politically and home these refugees was rooted in the public, not the Government, and Quakers played an important role in this. Carmen Sanchez-Kilner hosts this platform, the focus of which is all about remembering, preserving and telling you the story of these children, these niños vascos: how this evacuation affected them, the reception they were given here, and the communities (including the Quaker community) that supported them. We meet on May 1st, at 4.15pm in the Music Centre Hall, and all members of the Ackworth Community are welcome to attend.
Carmen Kilner is the Treasurer and Trustee of the Basque Children of '37 Association, and plenty more things besides. Carmen Kilner (née Sánchez González) is the daughter of two parents, both teachers who cared for the Basque children.
PLATFORM NOTES
Carmen also provided us with some excellent resources (in Spanish as well as English!) providing further information on the Basque Child Refugees. Please click on the image below to download the document.