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The Spanish Civil War Living History Group |
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Who served in the British Battalion?This article is a summary of the relevant chapters of Richard Baxell’s excellent ‘British Volunteers in the Spanish Civil’, supplemented from other sources. It attempts to paint a picture of the men who made up the British Battalion in Spain. It has been suggested that the horrors of the First World War were not really so bad. The problem lay in the number of poets who, unlike Durham miners, were not used to roughing it. While the problems with this interpretation are obvious, the accounts of the literary, like Laurie Lee or George Orwell – never a member of the International Brigades – tend to give the impression that the British Battalion was Bloomsbury at war. This was not the case. Recruitment into the British Battalion varied across the war. Serious recruiting began to deliver men in December 1936, which saw the biggest single arrival of volunteers. January 1937 produced almost another 200 recruits, the second highest number. The Spring and Summer of 1937 saw a steady trickle of men crossing into Spain – May being an exception, with about 80 arrivals. 50-75 recruits arrived most months arrived from August 1937 till April 1938, peaking in February. Following May 1938, few new faces appeared. The political leanings of the volunteers were certainly antifascist. This was what most put on their membership cards. To do other invited the closer attention of potential Nationalist captors. Wearing a red scarf likewise could result in a swift death, although the Fascists did not seem over particular in this matter and would murder anyone. Records exist for over half the Brigaders. Of these 1489, 936 described themselves as Communist. Many joined the party in Spain. 110 listed themselves as Labour party members. 169 were part of the Young Communist League and 224 said they had no affiliation. Membership does not, of course, reflect the depth and commitment to ideas, but clearly the role of the Communist Party in the anti-Fascist struggle gave it a high profile in the political life of many Brigaders. The mode average age of a British Brigader was 23. Most were between 21 and 33. A reasonable number were in their 30s but the numbers decline from then on. The oldest was 63. Walter Gregory reports the initial attempt made by recruiters to prevent over youthful volunteers, wary of the propaganda own-goal that having them killed in Spain. This was to apply to married men and others with dependents. It did not always work in practice. Robert Wardle left a wife and two sons behind in Hull. Almost 100 Brigaders were aged between 16 and 20. Reports of youths being dragged off ships by irate mothers exist in the oral testimonies. Compared to the French Brigaders, the British had more 16-25 and 40+ year olds. Problems exist in tracing the origins of many Brigaders. The records can be ambiguous and are not always clear if the address given is the home one or a lodging house. This may mean that the 31% from the South East were not all true born sons of Estuary England.
Most of the rest came from the Industrial North of England, with a handful from Cyprus and British Empire. About 40% came from 8 British cities. London accounted for 520 recruits, Glasgow 197, Liverpool 131 and Manchester 109. Even quiet small industrial towns, such as Scunthorpe, could produce two Brigaders, Charles Framp and Thomas Bielstien. The social background of the Brigaders was varied. Lewis Clive was the descendent of Clive of India and a rowing Gold Medallist; Esmond Romily was a nephew of Winston Churchill. This was not typical. Many, like Brigade medic Alun Menai Williams, had held several jobs, including that of miner. The most common five occupations were:
The number of drivers is remarkable, given the relatively small number of motor vehicles in the 1930’s. Engineers and metal workers each made up about 1% of the battalion. Other occupations were as varied as journalists and bricklayers, cooks and students. An aggregation of the different jobs within an economical sector places Manufacturing and Construction as the largest group [30%]. Transport accounted for 22% and Trade at 22%. After that mining produced 9% of recruits, the professions and publishing 6% each and the arts and crafts 1%. This reinforces the fact that the image of the Brigaders being an aesthetes crusades is wrong. Given only 1% described themselves as unemployed, it rather counters the propaganda that the Brigaders were out of work and duped by offers of high wages. Tom Winteringham, an early commander of the Battalion said that between 12.5% and 25% were out of work. Given the state of unemployment in the post-Wall Street Crash world, especially from the sectors these men came from, it is not an unusually high amount. Trade Union membership was described as being high by Bill Alexander, a commander of the Battalion in 1938. Four unions accounted for above 1% of the battalion’s membership. The ‘Big Four’ were the Transport & General Workers [122], National Union of Seamen [50], South Wales Miners’ Federation [43] and Amalgamated Engineer’s Union [39]. It is impossible
to give a profile of the ‘typical’ Brigader. If statistics
mean anything he would be a 23 year old Communist labourer from London
who belonged to the TGWU and arrived in December 1936. Clearly the pattern
is much more complex than that but it is possible to say that they were
mostly urban and working class and involved in left wing politics. Bibliography:
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