A MEMORIAL plaque will be unveiled next month to remember a Bolton volunteer who died fighting fascism in the Spanish Civil War.

James Alwyn died at the Battle of Jarama, to the south of Madrid, in February 1937 and will now have his sacrifice honoured on the plaque at Bolton Socialist Club.

Little is known about the solider, who is thought to be the only International Brigade volunteer from Bolton who was killed in the conflict.

The plaque will be unveiled at 1pm on Saturday, September 16 at the Wood Street club by Maria Luisa Toole, a 92-year-old Basque refugee who was sent to England aged 11 and later moved to Bolton.

She and her elder brother were the last two of almost 4,000 children to board the SS Habana to the UK and were originally settled in Cambridge.

Lisa Croft, of the International Brigade Memorial Trust, has helped organise the memorial alongside the Socialist Club and Bolton Trades Council.

She said: "We have been trying for quite a while to get this memorial.

"Bolton has a long history of helping refugees and was more involved in the Spanish Civil War than most people would probably think.

"The town sent an ambulance to Spain, which was quite amazing during a time in the 1930s when people had very little money.

"A lot of Basque refugee children also came here.

"It is great that, to this day, Bolton has a strong connection with helping refugees in times of crisis."

The new plaque will be accompanied by an exhibition showcasing Bolton's role in supporting Republican fighters during the three-year war and helping refugees.

Other volunteers who either lived or were born in Bolton include Joseph William Moran, Philip Neville Harker, John Kremner, and Henry Saunders Bury.

Much-loved former Bolton bar owner Pedro Cuadrado, who died in 2010, was also conscripted into the Republican army fighting General Franco as a teenager living near Barcelona.

Around 2,500 men and women from Britain volunteered to fight in the war, 536 of whom were killed in action.

Ms Croft's grandfather, Archibald Williams, was also an International Brigadier and was imprisoned during the civil war.

She added: "You don't really associate Britain with the Spanish Civil War at all, it is almost like an unwritten part of history.

"We want to encourage people to learn more about it.

"These brave people from Bolton and across the country went to Spain as volunteers to fight fascism. They left their families and their jobs, they gave up a lot.

"When my grandfather came back he wasn't allowed to fight in World War Two because he was seen as a trouble-maker."

The Watermillock in Astley Bridge was a large colony where Basque refugee children stayed.

Volunteers refurbished the building to prepare for the arrival of the children, who were welcomed off their coaches from Southampton by a crowd of around 400 people.

Manchester and Lancashire produced some of the most successful aid movements during the conflict.

Eight fully-equipped ambulances were sent to Spain from the region, thanks to the fundraising efforts of local groups including the Clarion Cycle Club.

Adlington was also the scene of an internment camp for Spanish prisoners during World War Two.