After a walk of almost 40 minutes towards the north, along the beach of Lacanau, in Gironde, you can see at low tide the remains of the Cantabria, which voluntarily ran aground on August 26, 1937, at 3 a.m. Of this port dredger, 80 meters long and whose chimney peaked 15 meters above the water, all that remains is the scrap metal of the hull, which can be seen more or less clearly, depending on the coefficients of tide. Around it, water reservoirs form and shape the landscape, attracting the attention of walkers.
The Cantabria carried 497 Spanish Republicans on board, who fled Santander and the trap of Franco’s troops, in the middle of the Spanish Civil War. The boat was not designed for the high seas and the aim was obviously to shelter these families, as quickly as possible, on the French coast. Those who know this story are the oldest Canaulais or those who came across the wreck while surfing or fishing. “This is part of the memorial and historical heritage of Lacanau,” comments Benoît Berque, retired executive from the Ministry of the Interior, active member of the Lacanau cultural association and the UNC (National Union of Combatants)-Lacanau.
After Lacanau, camps for refugees
That night, the sea was quite high and the families landed on the beach without there being any casualties. After several days at sea, the doctor from Lacanau, which then had 1,000 inhabitants compared to 6,000 today, still treated some injured people. “Vacationers and residents alike showed exemplary solidarity towards them at the time,” says René Magnon, a Canaulais who was interested in this local history.
Spanish families stay a short time in the seaside resort and are transported by train to camps set up specifically for Spanish refugees. “There were some in Talence, Mérignac, Libourne and Andernos,” explains Benoît Berque. According to the archives I consulted, some men also returned to their countries to continue fighting. » On the train chartered for their return, they had written “Libertad o Muerte”, freedom or death. René Magnon tells the story of a three-year-old child who arrived on his grandfather’s knees aboard the Cantabria. “He was adopted by a Bordeaux family on vacation in Lacanau but he returned to Spain for his studies,” he adds.
The Cantabria remained in this state for several years after its arrival in Lacanau. Repatriating it would have been very expensive and the Second World War broke out shortly after it ran aground. “After 1945, the Arcachon shipyard intervened to collect the metal parts that could be recovered,” explains Benoît Berque. It is then time and the sea which shape the contours of the barge.
Nearly 90 years after its grounding, only part of the carcass of this boat which saved nearly 500 lives remains. Within a few decades, it could completely disappear from the large ocean beach of Lacanau. The Lacanau cultural association is mobilizing so that it does not disappear from collective memory.