April 2014 – Porta de la Historia's blog

Last weekend I had the pleasure of taking part in what has been the Third Merriman March to remember the Lincoln Washington battalion's horrific night time retreat between Batea and Corbera over the 1st and 2nd of April 1938. Robert Merriman was the XV Brigade's Chief of Staff, and he and his adc, Commissar Dave Doran disappeared in an ambush close to Corbera, never to be seen again. The prime mover behind this event is Anna Marti Centellas and her husband, Enric Comas, who have done extensive field walking, interviews and research to try and understand this confusing period.

To explain the situation and events over these two days, here is an article by Anna Marti that appeared in the ALBA “Volunteer” magazine last year. It can also be read in Spanish:

http://www.albavolunteer.org/2012/07/in-the-footsteps-of-the-lincoln-washington-battalion/

And here are four videos in Catalan and Spanish of the 30km route that was led by Anna and Enric. Many thanks to Ramon Aragonés Margalef for filming this walk. We look forward to others joining us in future years.

Expect an English version later today:

And here is something that a local farmer found between Batea and Maella recently:

Posted with Blogsy

Using an app to keep the blog active!

I have decided to use an app on my I Pad to keep putting messages online rather than using my rather squeaky laptop. I must apologise for my silence between the end of October and now. Firstly the 75th Anniversary of the Withdrawal of the International Brigades might have thrown me more than I realised. But certainly, after having taken part in a re enactment last November at La Fatarella, I promised to think deeply about the experience and report back. I enjoyed it, but it moved me deeply and I was thinking about some friends who do not like this sort of thing. Sadly I think I have learned, and will learn a great deal from this experience, so expect some reports on this.