The Working Class Movement Library has published a booklet dedicated to the men and women of Greater Manchester who went to the aid of the Spanish people in their fight against fascism in the 1930s, and to the many more who gave their support from home. From Manchester to Spain, written by volunteer Bernard Barry, uses the Library's extensive International Brigade archival material to tell the stories of those men and women.
The Spanish Civil War was one of the biggest conflicts to take place in Europe between the First and Second World Wars. In July 1936 army officers led by General Franco staged a coup seeking to overthrow the recently elected government. They were openly aided by fascist Italy and Nazi Germany which supplied money, weapons and troops.
200 volunteers, mostly aged below 30, left Manchester to join the International Brigade. 44 gave their lives in the war against Franco and most of the rest were seriously wounded. Medical volunteers from the city also served in the Manchester ward of the British Hospital in Spain. From Manchester to Spain uses original accounts, correspondence and photos to tell the volunteers’ stories.
It also tells of the Spanish Aid committees which sprang up in many different Manchester districts to raise money. All their efforts resulted in three foodships and eight field ambulances sent out to Spain.
The Library’s collections of International Brigade archival material, which are open to everyone to use, include pamphlets, tapes, and individual accounts and photos. We hold letters from Ralph Cantor from Cheetham, one of the first Mancunians to volunteer and who was only 21 years old when he was killed in the Battle of Brunete in 1937. Ralph’s diary forms part of the small display of Spanish Civil War material which is on show in the Library’s drop-in exhibition space.
The new booklet From Manchester to Spain is available for £5 if you call in at the Library. It can be purchased online at
www.wcml.org.uk/shop at the same price plus £2 p&p.