STRIFE IN SPAIN

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXI, Issue 4960, 25 February 1937, Page 5

STRIFE IN SPAIN

EXPERIENCES OF MARINE ENGINEER. TRANSPORTING REFUGEES. Scenes of strife in the streets of a Spanish town, the bombing of a Government warship by the rebel forces .and the plight of many refugees from stricken Spain, were graphically described by Mr. J. Rogers, an engineer on the Polzella, which visited Spain in July and August of last year, and is now discharging a cargo of phosphate at Dunedin. Mr. Rogers was one of two members of the Polzella’s crew who went ashore at Huelva, a small port between Cadiz and Seville, to see what was happening. His experiences were such that he was very glad to get safely back to his ship, and though she remained in port for 16 days, he made no further effort to go ashore. Mr. Rogers and his companion were granted leave to visit Huelva “at their own risk.” They were met at the wharf by an armoured car from which machine guns seemed to menace them, and men with rifles, revolvers and other lethal weapons, were everywhere. They were members of the Government forces, which then held the town, and many of them, Mr. Rogers said, appeared to be irresponsible youths, mostly drunk. Many were in shirt sleeves, and there was no apparent organisation. A cafe was visited, but the two adventurers were ordered out at the point of a machine gun. No fewer than four churches were in flames while -they were in the town, and behind one of these they saw the mutilated bodies of a number of women. The shops and buildings in the main street had all been wrecked, and many had, apparently, been looted. A skirmish broke out white Mr. Rogers and his friend were still in the streets, and not far from them several men were shot down. It was this which decided them to return to the Polzella without further delay. The vessel had called at Huelva to ship a cargo of ore from the Rio Tinto mines nearby, which are owned by British interests. At the end of 16 days, however, it was obvious that there was to be no chance of loading, and when a rebel aeroplane bombed a Government warship in the harbour no time was lost in putting to sea. Between 200 and 250 refugees, mostly British people-from the mines, but including some of other nationalities, were taken away by the Polzella, and later transferred to a British warship. The presence of these on a ship of only 4700 odd tons taxed the accommodation to the'full, and though the officers and members of the crew surrendered their quarters, it was necessary to find additional room for the refugees in the chartroom, the saloon, and the messroom. The question of providing food for such a large number of unexpected guests also presented a major problem and before the Polzella had reached Port Said all hands were on short rations. The town of Seville had just been captured by the insurgents when the ship arrived at Huelva, and that port was taken while the ship was there. In this connection Mr. Rogers related a story showing the attitude of the people toward the revolution. The crew of the Polzella had soon come to know by sight the men who spent their days fishing from the wharves. These, to show their sympathy with the party in power, wore red armlets. Then, one night, much activity was noticed on shore. Armoured cars were seen rushing up and down the streets and the town was bombed from aeroplanes. Morning came, and the usual loiterers appeared on the wharf wearing white armlets, the emblem of the insurgents. Huelva had been captured by General Franco. Lying in the harbour white the Polzella was at Huelva were a. German ship, which left shortly after the Polzella’s arrival, and a British ship, which remained there only two days. There was also an old hulk on which the Government forces had isolated all those in the city whose sympathies were under suspicion. They were herded together on the deck of the hulk and chained there until the town was captured by General Franco, whose troops released them without delay. This afforded Mr. Rogers his first glimpse of the insurgent forces, and his impression was that they were much better organised than the Government troops,