This memorial was unveiled in St Clement's, on the grassy area outside South Park, on Saturday 10 June 2017.
It remembers the 31 volunteers from the County of Oxfordshire who went to fight in the Spanish Civil War, and names the six that were killed:
Anthony Carritt
Edward Cooper
Lewis Clive
Herbert Fisher
Ralph Fox
John Rickman
The memorial is made of granite and is 1.8m high and 1m wide. It depicts a three-pointed red star (the symbol of the International Brigade who were opposed to the fascists) and a clenched fist crushing a scorpion, representing the democratic struggle against the poison of fascism. It was designed by Charlie Carter Artworks Ltd.
The project cost about £30,000 which was collected through donations, fund-raising events, and the sale of a specially produced book, No Other Way: Oxfordshire and the Spanish Civil War 1936–39
There is a plaque fixed to the back of the memorial (left). This reads:
INTERNATIONAL
BRIGADES
In memory of the 31 men
and women of Oxfordshire
who defended democracy
and fought fascism in the
Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939
and the people of the County
who gave them support.
Six were killed in action.
‘We came because our open
eyes could see no other way.’
C Day Lewis
The International Brigade Memorial Trust originally planned to site a memorial in Bonn Square, but the city council rejected this proposal in the autumn of 2014 on the grounds that it was “visually intrusive and overly-dominant”.
See BBC News report.
The Trust then proposed the present more dramatic memorial and hoped to place it near the Oxford War Memorial in St Giles', but there was fierce opposition, and the planning application was withdrawn (15/02859/FUL).
See article in the Morning Star.
Eventually planning permission to site it on the triangle of grass at the foot of Headington Hill just outside South Park (below) was granted in March 2017 (16/03166/FUL).
The memorial was unveiled by the Deputy Lord Mayor Christine Simm in the presence of Carmen Negrin (granddaughter of Juan Negrin, the last Prime Minister of the Spanish Republic). Colin Carritt (nephew of the first man named on the memorial) introduced the speakers, who included Richard Baxell (Chair of the International Brigade Memorial Trust National Executive Committee). Neil Gore read “The Volunteer”, a poem by C. Day Lewis.
Carmin Negrin making her speech
Deputy Lord Mayor Christine Simm unveiling the memorial
Oxford Mail reports:
- 11 June 2017: “Hundreds gather to celebrate unveiling of Spanish Civil War Memorial”
- 20 April 2017: “Date set to unveil Spanish Civil War memorial”
- 27 February 2017: “Plans for Oxford memorial to Spanish Civil War volunteers clears key hurdle”
- 18 February 2016: “First Person: Honouring the fight against fascism”
- 19 October 2015: “Hopes rise over Spanish Civil War memorial”
- 17 January 2015: “City memorial will honour Spanish Civil war fighters”
- 15 January 2015: “Monumental battle ensues”
- 8 August 2014: “Memorial stone to honour fight against fascists”
- 14 March 2014: “A pledge to remember Oxford's Spanish Civil War volunteers”
Morning Star report:
- 6 November 2015: “Nimbys block nod to heroes of Spain civil war in Oxford”
International Brigade Memorial Trust press releases:
