Spanish civil war

[Keith at Tregenna]

Possibly worth a read: (30 pages)

Multinational Naval Cooperation in the Spanish Civil War, 1936.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/4464266...o_tab_contents

[j.sabourn]

#11. Most of us were taught at school in our History classes about the Spanish Vivil War and the then big name in Spain General Franco, and like all school kids we took this as the absolute truth . Today people writing books about it will fall under the same spell. What we were were taught was that many went for personal reasons to fight on both sides for their own political reasons . Today as something similar happened in the Middle East anyone leaving the country to do so should pay the penalty of not being able to use their return ticket. It was always always stressed that Hitler used his Luftwaffe to try out his aerial attacks which he used to advantage when attacking Poland and later The UK. The Russian Revolution has also received its share of book writing and depending on what and who is writing the book will have its own vibes. What is often quoted is the aims of the ruling dictator of whatever hue , nothing is ever said or very little , of the people and their views. The likes of Russia and Germany would never have reached the pinnacles they did without the people going along with it, so my view of most wars is it is not only the leaders but also the masses who are responsible. JS

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi John.
Don't think it has changed much from the days of the Spanish Civil war, just think of Facebook and Twitter as two examples of mass hysteria.
Des

[j.sabourn]

#13. I don’t go on either Des, but do sometimes receive exerts taken from them sent me by others. Some day might pluck up courage and visit other sites , but really see no point in doing so. The devil you know is better than the one you don’t , always was good philosophy . Another good saying was , a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. That’s why the likes of this site is good as most knowledge on it comes from peoples actual experiences , and not wishful thinking. My own wishful thinking these days is wishing could wind back the clock. Actually going out visiting other people today , will be like coming out of the old Anderson Bomb shelter and stepping over the rubble. Cheers JWS.

[happy daze john in oz]

Interesting point you raise there John on the Russian Revolution.
We were all taught at school what occurred according to records at the time.

But two years ago in St. Petersburgh we did a tour of the winter palace, the last building in which the Tzar and his family were before being taken by the revolutionists.
There you will be told slightly different story that they were not arrested but went willingly with those who came to take them.
Taken far afield before moving to the place where they were executed.

But of course as is the case withal history, it depends on who does the recording of the events.
History is not what occurred, rather what seen to occur according to the person writing up the history of the days events.

[Keith at Tregenna]

The blockade-busting seafarers brought vital supplies to Spaniards fighting the fascist-backed uprising against their elected Popular Front government. Big cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Bilbao remained loyal to the Republic, while much of their agricultural hinterlands fell into fascist hands. Swollen by refugees, these urban centres became dependent on imports. Food shortages and starvation were an ever-present reality.
Later in the war, British ships and crews played a key role in taking thousands of Republican refugees to safety, again running the gauntlet of Franco’s mines and bombs.
The Spanish Republic’s embassy in London reported that in the first two years of the war, up to June 1938, 13 British merchant ships had been sunk, 51 others bombed from the air, two had been damaged by mines, five were attacked by submarines and 23 had been seized or detained by Franco’s forces.
Thirty-five British seamen were killed in these attacks and nearly 50 badly injured. The Royal Navy also lost eight sailors when in May 1937 the destroyer HMS Hunter struck a mine laid by Franco’s navy south of Almeria.
The final tally by the end of the war in April 1939 was much higher. At least 26 were sunk or wrecked – though the number of British seafarer deaths is unknown.
The attacks on British shipping were played out against the background of Britain’s cynical policy of “non-intervention” in the Spanish Civil War. This meant an arms embargo on Spain’s legitimate government – while turning a blind eye to the troops, weapons and aeroplanes that Hitler and Mussolini were sending Franco, and doing little to protect British shipping.
The Royal Navy was not even allowed to clear mines around Bilbao and other northern Spanish ports to allow free passage of British ships. Speaking on behalf of the Conservative-led government, Home Secretary John Simon told the House of Commons on April 14 1937 that such action would constitute intervention in favour of the Republic. An angry Clem Attlee, the Labour leader, accused the government of giving up trying to protect British shipping.
Many British ships, however, defied the government’s official warnings. The blockade was eventually broken on April 20 by the Cardiff-registered Seven Seas Spray, having sailed through the night with its navigation lights off. Thousands of Bilbao’s inhabitants greeted the ship’s arrival, shouting: “Long live the British sailors! Long live liberty!” Other ships soon followed, ignoring Francoist warning shells fired across their bows, while Royal Navy ships looked on. They too were cheered by enthusiastic crowds as they docked in the Basque port.

FROM: Wednesday, February 13, 2019:

Remembering the seafarers who defied the fascist blockade of Spanish ports

JIM JUMP tells the story of British seafarers who traded with Republican Spain during the Spanish Civil War.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/arti...-spanish-ports

[j.sabourn]

#16 When I first went to sea Keith the. Same as most others you went on a ship as part of the crew and the shipowner was under no obligation to tell you where the ship was going. So in all probability those ships trading with Spain the crews in all likelihood were not volunteers. The RN would have had orders to only fire if fired upon , and in self defence as no war was declared officially between Britain and Spain. It was business as usual for the shipowner. Looking back in retrospect although I was never one to advocate to nationalise any industry, to what the British Merchant Navy consists of today , it could have done so and if did so , and maybe if had been nationalised we may still of had one today. It was Lands end for orders if destinations didn’t want to be divulged Today however that would be nigh on impossible to keep a ships destination a secret. Believe some of those trading in recent years in the Gulf got bonuses and could if wanted refuse to sign on. I was never fortunate to get one , a bonus that is, so maybe being a company’s servant had different rules attached. Cheers JS.

[j.sabourn]

#15.. Russia’s not the only one to attempt to change the views of history, I recently recollect there were so called British patriots trying to demean the history of Nelson by calling him a slave owner. Even if he was it does not alter his successes as a great naval commander and tactician. JS

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi John.
I have heard of these bonuses paid out to blokes who sailed up the Persian Gulf, I spent a few years up and down there, never got a penny.
Des

[j.sabourn]

#19... what about the east of suez bonus Des? Used to hear people talk of that one. . JS
Think there was a Great Lakes bonus, if there was I must have got that one but can’t remember. I know there was a charterers bonus for the Lakes which came from Federal Commerce of Montreal.jS.