Monthly Archives: December 2024

Did you know about the International Brigade?

Did you know about the International Brigade?

While reading a book, the Kindle version of M K Jones’s genealogical mystery ‘Line of Descent’ prompted me to ask questions about my area and surnames connected to my family. In a few words, the story is about a genealogical investigation team searching for information about a British man who left home and fought in the Spanish Civil War in the latter part of the 1930s.

One question immediately arose: Did any RIACH (my One-Name Study) family go to Spain? I was surprised to find one—a woman. I will tell you more about her later. I quickly asked if any Wilkinson or Siddle people were on the list. Yes, a couple of Wilkinsons—not connected—and not a Siddle in sight.

The second question followed very closely on the heels of the first—did anyone who lived in the Wakefield area go?

I then did a great deal of Googling and found quite a few interesting websites and snippets of information on a Facebook group.

Over half a dozen men from Wakefield and surrounding areas were linked to the Spanish Civil War. That information was a little surprising, but what was unexpected was how many men from the Leeds area fought. The names of those who fought for what they believed are listed on the International Brigade Memorial Trust website. I learned that over 2,500 British and Irish fought in Spain, where they joined 35,000+ volunteers from 53 other countries.

These volunteers were mainly working-class and included writers, poets, and intellectuals. Initially, many of the volunteers were members of the Communist Party. However, they were soon joined by socialists, members of trade unions, and other left-wing groups. The conditions were harsh, and pay was poor, if any.

Why did they go?
https://international-brigades.org.uk/education-slide/why-they-went/

One source goes on to say that one in five of the British and Irish who went to fight lost their lives, while very few came out unscathed.

Many of those who did go and returned home became soldiers during WWII, leading trade union figures and politicians of their day—some had even fought during WWI.

Who were the women?
May Riach, an American doctor, was in Spain in February 1937 and repatriated later that month. Such a short stay—why? As I said earlier, more about May at a later date. As for the British women, Nan Green and Winifred Bates took on administrative tasks, while Felicia Brown, a British artist and sculptor, was killed while fighting with the Spanish militia in the summer of 1936.

At the end, I’ll include a few links to local volunteers and, for those of us with family history, links overseas links to Canada, America and Australia.

The men from the Wakefield area –
Robert Brown – lived in Normanton
Robert Reasey – lived in Ossett
Peter O’Day
John Spencer – lived on Walnut Avenue, Wakefield
Samuel Taylor – lived on Bridge Street, Wakefield
Charles ‘Yorky’ Hart – Pontefract
George Bennett – lived on Spa Lane, Ossett

A bit more about May
Dr May Riach was born May Turner in West Virginia in 1886. Her second husband was Scottish-born Col. William Riach (1877-1942).

She attended Harvard University, among other well-known educational establishments in America. In her career, she was a renowned surgeon and eye specialist. Her passport application states that she was offered the position of Professor of Anatomy at Constantinople Woman’s College (incorporating The American College of Girls at Constantinople in Turkey) in 1921. May passed through France, Switzerland, Jugo-Slavia, Bulgaria, and Greece.

She was also an ophthalmic surgeon affiliated with the British and Egyptian governments in Cairo.

I wonder if the highlight of her career had been operating on King Prajadhipok of Siam to save his failing sight.

If you have a missing relative or have heard family rumours about someone leaving the country in the 1930s, look at the websites below—you may find some interesting information.

Wakefield area men
https://international-brigades.org.uk/?s=wakefield&id=7981&post_type=volunteer

Pontefract men
https://international-brigades.org.uk/?s=pontefract&id=7981&post_type=volunteer

Leeds men
https://international-brigades.org.uk/?s=leeds&id=7981&post_type=volunteer

Memorial map
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1_XBoFQHZpoYGDjpAoZtcP2JzQ5djq-I&ll=55.06653231482943%2C-3.648019317812876&z=6

Canada – https://www.macpapbattalion.ca/volunteers/
https://spanishcivilwar.ca/volunteers/browse

America – https://alba-valb.org/volunteer-database/

Australia – https://archives.anu.edu.au/exhibitions/australia-spanish-civil-war-activism-reaction/serving-spain-international-brigades