The Association is involved both with the recuperation of historic memory and with providing a cultural and social programme for Members.

Here we will let you know about: events with which we are involved, or which may be of interest to you

• forthcoming and recent events,
• exhibitions,
• commemorative plaques,
• cultural and social events
• Past activities and events (2004-2007)

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12th October  2008 Unveiling of a blue plaque in Montrose, Scotland.

Sun. 12th October 2008 in Montrose, Scotland 

There was the unveiling of a blue plaque at Mall Park House, the colony which hosted Basque children from 1937-1939. This is the seventh plaque
that the Association has had put up.

Background to Montrose Colony

 Here is a report of the event from the Courier- a local Dundee paper about the unveiling that took place in Scotland on 12th October. It was a very moving occasion; Tom Borland who did the unveiling, was the son of a niña who was at Mall House, but unhappily she died  of TB when she was 21, so he never really knew her.

Los Niños - The extraordinary story remembered and retold in a week of live performance, film and exhibition. 10^th -13^th October 2007

The Point, Eastleigh commorated the events of 1937 with a week of new arts commissions, collaborations with Basque artists, discussion and exhibitions. Steve Bowles presented his film 'The Guernica Children' and Natalia Benjamin put the week in context on the 10th October. There was a performance by The Point Young People’s Theatre of a specially commissioned piece Javier Maria and Me. The play, funded by The Heritage Lottery Fund will tour local schools telling the children's story and deal with current refugee themes and will feature with the premier of a new dance collaboration. One of the associate companies of The Point, Lila Dance, will work with the Basque choreographer Jon Maya Sein of Kukai Dance Company to produce a new dance collaboration with specially composed music. Michael Portillo, himself the son of a Basque refugee gave an ‘Audience with’ evening before introducing the performance from Basque region’s Kukai Dance/Tanttaka theatre company for their performance of 1937: Along the paths of memory on the 12th.

There was also a symposium; Exploring the Experience of Exile, organised by The University of Southampton and the Basque Children of '37 Association UK on Saturday the 13th October as well as an exhibition throughout the week in collaboration with the Association and the Red Cross.

70^th Anniversary celebrations

On the 70^th anniversary of their arrival – on Saturday 26 May 2007– hundreds of the Basque ‘children’ and their families gathered in Southampton to commemorate this extraordinary episode in history.  For a report, photographs, copies of the speeches and links to press reports go here.

  Exhibitions

The Association now has a collection of 29 display panels mostly dedicated to different colonies, with photographs of the niños and newspaper reports, as well as tickets, posters and other material.

To see where the exhibition has been shown go here

Commemorative Plaques

A major endeavour with which we have become involved is the erection of Blue Plaques to mark the sites of previous colonies and to acknowledge the care and support of the local people. It involves contacting and liaising with local councils, historical societies, and local papers. It often unearths surprising new facts, details, memories and occasionally a new niño or niña is found, so these can be a very emotional event all round! These popular events are always well supported locally , and, together with the publicity they produce, have become a valuable way of educating the public and attracting new members to our Association.

We recently erected a  a plaque to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the arrival of the niños at Southampton, outside the Southampton City Library.

The following is a list of the Blue Plaques that have been erected by the Association at the sites of previous colonies: 

• Worthing (May 2007)
• Hull (November 2006)
• Cambridge (May 2005)
• Caerleon, South Wales (October 2004)
• Aston, Oxfordshire (July 2003)

Further details will be found in the relevant newsletter.

Cultural Events

Our Association has been involved in organising several talks, which have been given to our members and interested others, mainly in London and Oxford: