The Spanish Civil War has had a profound and lasting impact on Britain. At least 2400 Britons volunteered to fight for the Spanish Republic (of whom more than 500 died), while others provided medical assistance, visited Spain in delegations, or covered the Civil War as journalists. In this collection of three of his published articles and seven new essays, all based on primary research, Tom Buchanan sheds light on many facets of this complex relationship. The book's central themes are the impact of loss on families and communities, and the importance of Spain itself -- its history and culture -- in the way that the Civil War was understood in Britain. Some of the chapters deal with individuals involved in the Civil War, such as the writer John Langdon-Davies, the artist Felicia Browne and the journalist GL Steer. Others pursue somewhat neglected themes, such as the response of British artists to the war or the role played by British medical personnel. The final two chapters focus on the long-term impact of the conflict on British politics and on Britain's relations with Spain since 1939.
"A far away country of which we know nothing"? British perceptions of Spain and its civil war, 1931-1939; Journalism at war: George Lowther Steer, Guernica and the resistance to fascist aggression; The masked advance: politics, intrigue and British medical aid for the Spanish Republic; The lost art of Felicia Browne; Mobilising art: British artists and the Spanish Civil War; The death of Bob Smillie, the Spanish Civil War and the eclipse of the Independent Labour Party; Loss, memory and the British "volunteers for liberty"; My country right or left: John Langdon-Davies and Catalonia; Spain rediscovered: British perceptions of Franco's Spain and the advent of mass tourism, 1945-1975; The Spanish Civil War in British politics since 1939; Index.
