Solidarity Park

Thomas Dolan

Thomas Dolan was born on 19th April 1912 to Thomas and Rachael Dolan of 24 Quarry Street, New Silksworth. Thomas was working as a Dockside labourer at the time of his marriage in 1911, but by 1921 he was a plumber’s labourer at the shipyard of Short Brothers Limited of Pallion at Sunderland.

Frank Graham tells us Tom was active in the NUWM in 1934 which makes it likely he was at the anti-fascist demonstration in Sunderland in May 1934, the one in which John Inglebert Theodorson, the assistant propaganda officer of the Fascists in Sunderland, was ‘knocked off his box’ by Thomas Jobling. The following year Tom joined the Communist Party and then volunteered for Spain, he was living with his mother at 29 Norfolk Avenue, Sunderland when he volunteered, legend has it that Tom sold his bicycle to raise the funds to get to London. Tom travelled down to London with Frank Graham and Edgar Wilkinson who were both established CP activists, the three Sunderland volunteers waited in London together with a group of Scottish volunteers, who according to Graham ‘drank all night.’

Frank, Edgar and Tom were part of the first, 44 strong, transport of volunteers, who were enlisted on 1st January 1937. The next transport, of 7th January contained 122 volunteers. The 24 year old labourer was not allocated to a company, therefore during the first engagement of the British Battalion at the three day Battle of Jarama he was still in training, but he was assigned to No.3 Company when the battle was over.

When the American Battalion attack at Jarama on 27th February faltered the understrength British Battalion was thrown into the line to support them, it was here that Thomas Dolan lost his life, along with his Communist Party District Secretary for the North East Coast; Wilf Jobling.

Thomas Dolan was named on the Jarama memorial produced by the British Battalion in 1937 to their fallen comrades; his is the sixth name from the top shown on the iconic photograph; five above Wilf Jobling’s name. He is now named on José María Olivera Marco’s new reconstruction of the 1937 memorial.

Compiled by Tony Fox