Report
1941-11 038-0024-007 9 longer than was expected. Many families were refugees in France or elsewhere, some had disappeared, others were killed, in hiding, or prison; yet others were scattered about living on charity. The outbreak of war in this country, September, 1939, found the Committee with still...
| Institution: | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
November 1941
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/36412EC0-0BD2-4BF6-B046-478E7E7C0F09 http://hdl.handle.net/10796/9741AA9F-AFB6-4895-97F8-A0507E93B9F7 |
| Summary: | 1941-11
038-0024-007
9 longer than was expected. Many families were refugees in France or elsewhere, some had disappeared, others were killed, in hiding, or prison; yet others were scattered about living on charity. The outbreak of war in this country, September, 1939, found the Committee with still over 2,000 young Basques on its hands. Despite the new difficulties which the war in this country brought it was possible to reunite more families, chiefly because of the greatly increased repatriation of the refugees from France to other countries. Several big expeditions have been organised. But as the numbers in Britain grew smaller, the difficulties of repatriating them became more difficult. Some had no homes to return to, others were orphans with relatives still untraced, others had a father or mother, sometimes both, in prison. No child was returned to Spain unless it was definitely going to a relation or official guardian. All claims had to be established through the Consuls and Embassies of the two countries. The search in Spain went on unceasingly. Correspondence was continual and voluminous. Children returning to Spain took letters addressed to the villages in which they lived, seeking information concerning the whereabouts of parents or relatives of children still in Britain. But, alas, since the collapse of France and the impossibility of safe transport, all further repatriations have for the moment become impossible. The tale of repatriation is not complete without some appreciation of the financial and personal difficulties involved, in adapting hostel accommodation to the decreasing numbers. Constant readjustments, closing of some homes, transfer of children, dearly loved, from one committee's care to another. Many times the National Joint Committee found itself faced with heavy debts for dilapidations, when old houses had been taken hastily, either by the Basque Committee or a local Committee, to meet the pressing needs of housing such a large family all at once, and where no safeguarding agreement had been made. But in most cases debts have now been met and local accounts wound up, and to-day only three hostels remain — each with its local voluntary Committee :— Barnet in Herts, Carshalton in Surrey, and Caerleon in S. Wales. HOSTELS. Barnet, which had to face a very seriously damaged Hostel after one very bad air-raid early last year, has never relaxed its efforts for one moment, and under the able chairmanship of
292/946/38/24(VII) |
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| Physical Description: | TEXT |