The Spanish Civil War began in July 1936 when army officers attempted to overthrow the democratic Republican Government in Spain. They were only partly successful, the country was split in half and a bitter civil war ensued. Thousands of foreign volunteers (International Brigades), including many from Britain and Ireland, came to the aid of the Republic.
The Nationalist forces, led by General Franco, were supported with troops and arms by fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. In the first months of 1939, Nationalist forces overwhelmed the remaining Republican forces, finally taking Madrid, and the war ended. In the aftermath tens of thousands of Republicans were executed or imprisoned.
Franco remained in power until his death in 1975. Within a few years Spain had transformed itself into a modern democracy and surviving Republican exiles returned. A Socialist government was elected again in 1982.
The International Brigades represented part of an extensive Aid For Spain Movement in Britain, which was responsible for sending medical equipment and staff (a number of women served with the Brigade as nursing staff) and food and clothing to the Spanish people. Organisations such as the National Joint Committee For Spanish Relief were set up in response to the suffering of the Spanish people in defiance of the British Government's policy of Non-Intervention
