Volunteers united by a common goal - fighting fascism

A small memorial plaque in Castle Park commemorates four Bristolians who died in the 1930s fighting fascism in Spain. Ethan Horton looks at the story of the International Brigades.

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A PLAQUE in Castle Park, likely unnoticed by most passersby, commemorates Bristol’s contribution to the Spanish Civil War. Fixed to a stone wall below the ruins of St. Peter's church, it remembers four men who died fighting in Spain with the International Brigades: William George Boyce, William J. Burton, Leslie Huson May, and Terrence Stephens.

It was unveiled almost 40 years ago, on December 11 1986, by Jack Jones, former secretary of the Transport and General Workers’ Union.

At the unveiling, Jones told the crowd, “The city of Bristol joins many cities in recognising the sacrifice made by men who 50 years ago left their homes, loved ones, and careers to fight fascism”.

Jones himself served with the International Brigades, volunteers from all over the world fighting for the Spanish Republic against Franco’s Nationalist forces.

Alongside Jack Jones were other people wishing to pay their respects, including Winifred Sandford, who lived in Castle Cary at the time. By 1923, she had joined the Communist party of Great Britain and moved to the Spanish side of the Pyrenees Mountains. She married Ralph Bates, the brother of H.E. Bates, the prolific mid-20th-century novelist.

The war provided her with “many vivid memories”. As the only English person to speak fluent Spanish in the area, she worked on getting a bulletin out during the war. “You were expected to help with everything. I helped with medical operations and transporting the wounded. Sometimes, I just sat down at the side of the road to give my blood”. The unveiling gave her a chance to meet and reconnect with veterans like Jones.

“When the war ended, I moved to London; I have never returned to Spain, I wouldn’t want to.”

“The Spain I knew before the civil war was so very different.”