The Children of 37 (pt.2): Emilio Aldekoa
The Children of 37 (pt.2): Emilio Aldekoa
An Athletic fan from Zorrotza, Aldekoa escaped to England during the Spanish Civil War and then went on to have a remarkable career as a footballer
“The Children of ’37 in the UK”, the AC Museum’s upcoming exhibition, explores the evacuation of 4,000 Basque children to England aboard the SS Habana during the Spanish Civil War. More specifically, it follows the story of those refugees who developed a passion for football in the United Kingdom.
The exhibition’s inauguration is due to take place at midday local time on April 27, one day after the 85th anniversary of the bombing of Gernika.
As we get closer to the exhibition’s opening, we are publishing a three-part feature series taking an in-depth look at the refugees who played football at an elite level after the war ended.
A small number of those Basque children overcame the adversity of their respective situations and excelled as footballers, achieving extraordinary feats in their careers. The second article in our series is dedicated to Emilio Aldekoa.
At the end of August 1943, Emilio ‘El Inglés’ Aldekoa made a goalscoring debut for Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 2-4 loss against Crewe Alexandra at the Molineux Stadium.
A week later he was involved in a 1-3 away victory against the same opposition. Wolves were quick to tie him down and in December that year he became the first Spanish player to sign professional terms with a top English team.
Emilio had arrived in England six years prior as a refugee aboard the SS Habana. The Athletic fan from the neighbourhood of Zorrotza would go on to have a remarkable career as a footballer, playing for Wolves, Coventry City, Athletic Club, Real Valladolid, FC Barcelona and Sporting Gijón, before then becoming a successful coach.
Aldekoa was born in Deusto on November 30, 1922. However, he grew up in Zorrotza, just down the road from Athletic Club’s San Mamés stadium. On May 21, 1937, Emilio’s life took a drastic turn when he was evacuated to England on the SS Habana along with 4,000 other Basque children.
After staying at North Stoneham Camp, he was then transferred to Oakley Park in Norfolk, where locals had donated tents in order to build a huge makeshift campsite for the refugee children. Aldekoa quickly began to stand out as a talented footballer, taking part in several matches with the Basque Boys team he had helped to found. Curiously, he also lined up alongside future Coventry City teammate José Luis Bilbao when they beat Great Yarmouth Boys 8-2 on October 21, 1937.
As he grew older, Aldekoa moved to Stafford, where he found work at English Electric’s factory. He combined employment with his passion for football, playing for the factory’s side and local team Brocton FC. It did not take long for big teams in the region to take notice of his talent and in the latter half of 1943 he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers.
“He is a real find,” Wolves manager Major Frank Buckley told local newspapers after Aldekoa’s debut. “He has been playing with Brocton Football Club in Stafford and he has got umpteen goals.”
Aldekoa’s chance at Wolves came thanks to a letter of recommendation from a board member at Brocton which stated: “He is a double-footed player and seems to have made the centre-forward position his particular forte, but his ultimate best position can be best left up to you.”
His spell at Wolves was a great success. In his first season at the Midlands outfit, playing mostly as a left-wing, he scored 11 goals in 30 appearances as they competed in the wartime leagues. Two years later, Emilio moved to Coventry City.
He got off to the perfect start at the Sky Blues, making a goalscoring debut in a 3-1 win against Portsmouth. In 1946/47, official competition resumed and Aldekoa made 29 appearances for Coventry in the re-established Second Division, helping them to an eighth-place finish.
Emilio became a revered figure at Coventry, not just due to the fact he stood out on the pitch, but also because he was willing to help out off it. He would regularly head to Highfield Road and help repair the damage the stadium had incurred during the war. It was also during this time that he married Winifred Moseley, a local girl he met while playing for Wolves.
It did not take long for Athletic to get wind of the “fast and skilful” Bilbao-born left winger tearing up the English leagues. Although Aldekoa was content with his life in England, he couldn’t turn down the opportunity to play for his boyhood club.
He made his debut as a Lion on September 21, 1947, in an away defeat against RC Celta. One week later, he scored in his first home appearance, getting Los Rojiblancos’ only goal in a 1-3 loss to Real Sociedad.
Aldekoa spent two seasons in Bilbao, making a total of 49 appearances and scoring nine goals. What’s more, he put his fluency in English to use, acting as an interpreter for then manager Henry Bagge.
He then spent two years at Real Valladolid before signing for FC Barcelona in April 1951. One of his very first matches with the Catalans was their 1951 Copa victory over Real Sociedad. Even though Aldekoa’s involvement was very much limited after the 51/52 campaign, he was part of a squad which won five trophies (two LaLigas and three Copas) in his time there.
The Bilbao native saw out his playing days with a short-lived loan spell at Sporting Gijón before moving into coaching. His managerial career saw him have five stints in the Girona hot seat, in addition to spells in charge at Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, CD Condal, Real Valladolid and SD Llodio, among others.
His biggest impact after retirement came as a youth coach and assistant. In the early 60s he returned to England and worked as an assistant manager at Birmingham City, where he also helped to develop the club’s youth academy.
In the late 60s, Aldekoa returned to FC Barcelona, working as an assistant and interpreter for their English manager Vic Buckingham. While working for the club he proposed the creation of a purpose-built football academy focused on producing and training local talent.
Emilio worked in the game until 1984 and always maintained a fondness for English football. He died in Lloret de Mar in 1999 at the age of 76.
*Photos from the AC Museum
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