Norman Bethune: An Ontario Hero

New this month: Bethune in Spain by Jesús Majada and Roderick Stewart

In Bethune in Spain, Roderick Stewart and Jesús Majada recount Norman Bethune’s achievements in Spain and the events that led to his decision to assist the Loyalist forces in the Civil War.

The narrative contains Bethune’s letters and reports, some of them reproduced here for the first time, as well as newspaper articles, and interviews with him. It covers his creation and operation of a mobile blood transfusion unit, his rescue of fleeing Loyalist civilians during the Malaga-Almeria road tragedy, and his efforts to aid children orphaned by the War. It also deals with the gruelling public-speaking tour Bethune undertook on his return to Canada in 1937 to plead for intervention in support of democracy in Spain and to raise awareness of atrocities committed against civilians by the fascist-backed Spanish Nationalists.

Illustrated with photographs from Bethune’s seven months in Spain, Bethune in Spain is a poignant portrait of an early advocate for universal health care, an unwavering communist, and a crusader for the Spanish Republican cause.

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This past weekend, Roderick Stewart co-wrote with Sharon Stewart (both authors of Phoenix: The Life of Norman Bethune) a feature on Bethune and his Ontario roots in the Toronto Star. The following is an excerpt.

Tuesday, Aug. 4, 1914: In the early evening Norman Bethune joins one of the large crowds that has gathered outside the offices of Toronto’s leading newspapers. Like others, he is eager to learn Great Britain’s response to the German invasion of neutral Belgium the day before. Shortly after 7 p.m., banners with tall black headlines are unfurled: Great Britain has declared war on Germany, and Canada too has entered the conflict.

Electrified, people cheer, applaud and embrace one another. Some begin to sing Rule Britannia or God Save the King. Caught up in the enthusiasm, Bethune joins the surging crowd that follows a marching band down University Ave. to the armouries just north of Queen Street, where militia regiment headquarters have opened its doors. He is the eighth man to enlist.

Giving up his medical studies at the University of Toronto in September, Bethune becomes a private in the Canadian Army Medical Corps. He is just one of many Toronto boys about to board troop ships bound for England and the conflict later known as World War I.

Most people who recognize the name of Norman Bethune know little about his life in Canada and nothing about his time in Toronto — because his best-known achievements took place abroad.

Bethune’s first international involvement was in the Spanish Civil War, where he set up a mobile blood-transfusion service in Madrid in late 1936. Later recognized as one of the outstanding military-medical contributions of the war, his system of rushing bottled blood to wounded Republican soldiers near the front lines saved many lives.

He also rendered timely aid during the tragic flight of 100,000 refugees from Málaga who were under attack by fascist forces on land, sea and air. Bethune and two members of his blood transfusion unit reached the fugitives as they struggled along the stony coastal road. For three days and nights they filled and refilled their large ambulance with women and children and ferried them to safety in Almeria.

The City of Málaga decided to honour Bethune and his companions. On Feb. 7, 2006, in a ceremony attended by the Canadian ambassador, Marc Lortie, an esplanade along the waterfront was dedicated as The Promenade of the Canadians. A plaque was erected. It reads: “In memory of the assistance that the people of Canada through the efforts of Norman Bethune gave to fleeing Malagueñans in 1937.”

Click here for the full article

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To learn more about Bethune in Spain, click here.
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