Uploaded June 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The civil war in Spain is famously known for the thousands of volunteers it attracted from around the world who put their lives on the line to fight on the side of the republic against Franco’s nationalists. From Britain, 2,550 volunteers went to fight, 540 were killed, the majority of the rest were wounded, many more than once. But what drove and motivated these brave fighters to fight on the side of their peers in another country? Today it is hard to think of a cause people would be prepared to die for. So, who were the British volunteers who took part and what can we learn from their heroic sacrifice?
This short film forms Chapter 3 of WORLDwrite’s feature documentary, The UK Solidarity Story.
With special thanks to:
Michael Crowley, author, dramatist & Artistic director of The British Multitude Theatre Company; Mike Arnott, Scotland secretary, International Brigades Memorial Trust; Ruth Levitas, Emeritus Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Bristol;; Marlene Sidaway, a British television, film and theatre actress & Jim Jump, Chair of the International Brigade Memorial Trust.
The charity is most grateful to the International Brigades Memorial Trust for facilitating volunteer filming of the annual commemoration in Jubilee Gardens and to the skilled musicians of NA-MARA- Paul Mc Namara & Roberto Garcia for their music.
In 2024 the memorial takes place on Saturday 6 July in London– Music, words and wreath-laying from 1pm-2pm to honour the International Brigades at the national International Brigade Memorial on the South Bank in Jubilee Gardens, Belvedere Road, London SE1 7PG.
The civil war in Spain is famously known for the thousands of volunteers it attracted from around the world who put their lives on the line to fight on the side of the republic against Franco’s nationalists. From Britain, 2,550 volunteers went to fight, 540 were killed, the majority of the rest were wounded, many more than once. But what drove and motivated these brave fighters to fight on the side of their peers in another country? Today it is hard to think of a cause people would be prepared to die for. So, who were the British volunteers who took part and what can we learn from their heroic sacrifice?
This short film forms Chapter 3 of WORLDwrite’s feature documentary, The UK Solidarity Story.
With special thanks to:
Michael Crowley, author, dramatist & Artistic director of The British Multitude Theatre Company; Mike Arnott, Scotland secretary, International Brigades Memorial Trust; Ruth Levitas, Emeritus Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Bristol;; Marlene Sidaway, a British television, film and theatre actress & Jim Jump, Chair of the International Brigade Memorial Trust.
The charity is most grateful to the International Brigades Memorial Trust for facilitating volunteer filming of the annual commemoration in Jubilee Gardens and to the skilled musicians of NA-MARA- Paul Mc Namara & Roberto Garcia for their music.
In 2024 the memorial takes place on Saturday 6 July in London– Music, words and wreath-laying from 1pm-2pm to honour the International Brigades at the national International Brigade Memorial on the South Bank in Jubilee Gardens, Belvedere Road, London SE1 7PG.
