Frank Thomas
During the Spanish Civil War two young Welshmen volunteered to fight for their convictions - but on opposite sides. They had similar backgrounds. The elder, Frank Thomas, had a powerful yearning for military adventure. The younger, Sid Hamm, became a Communist before going to Spain. In April 1937, by now a battle-hardened veteran, Thomas was with Franco's Foreign Legion near the town of Brunete, helping to strengthen the Nationalist trenches. Hamm was just arriving in Spain to join the Republican International Brigade. Three months later, Thomas was back home, recuperating from terrible wounds, while Hamm met his death attempting to puncture the very defence works which Thomas had helped to construct. This story of a parochial civil war within the most defining of all civil wars has come to light through Robert Stradling's discovery of two unknown documents. Robert Stradling has provided a comprehensive introduction to these two accounts, with detailed notes and explanatory glosses, complemented by a selection of maps and illustrations.
Civil War,Spanish Civil War
Brother Against Brother: Experiences of a British Volunteer in the Spanish Civil War