Aristocrats, Adventurers and Ambulances — British Medical Units in the Spanish Civil War

by Linda Palfreeman         

(Sussex Academic Press £23.90)  

When it comes to war and conflict overseas, the British public have consistently shown that, regardless of lecturing by politicians or the ravings of the Tory press, they will quickly make up their own minds and judge what is fair and just, especially where there is unnecessary brutality. 

Such is the current position over Gaza, where the likes of Cameron have been content to give Israel a free pass to slaughter women and children, and so it was in Spain during its civil war. 

As a result the most unlikely of people are drawn by their simple humanity to support the oppressed, regardless of the politics of a situation which they may, normally, have found to be anathema to them.

Linda Palfreeman’s latest book on medical aid to Spain provides valuable new information about two individuals who used their influence and money to send ambulance units to Spain. Sir Daniel Stevenson was a Glaswegian who was already in his mid-eighties when the war started, and he used his own wealth and that of his friends, together with large donations from the TUC to fund the Scottish Ambulance Unit (SAU). 

The unit, led by the redoubtable Fernanda Jacobsen — a fiery personality — was involved in controversy from the very start, which included a falling out over the very ethos of the unit, leading to several doctors including Len Crome leaving to join the International Brigades.

The worst charge against the SAU was that it was involved with the notorious Captain Lance, aka “The Spanish Pimpernel,” in spiriting fascist sympathisers away from the British embassy to safety. 

Although it is suggested that the SAU was moved by humanitarian principles and that both the British and Spanish governments were aware of what was going on, little new light is shed on this dark episode. 

However, this should not detract from the unquestionable good work that was done by the unit throughout the war, which brought ringing endorsements from an array of important figures in the Spanish government. 

The second philanthropist to put his money and energies where his sympathies lay was Sir George Young who sponsored the University Ambulance unit, which has scarcely been mentioned in previous works about medical aid in Spain. 

Driven by reports of the butchery and brutality of the fascists, following the fall of Malaga Young led the unit to Almeria and later to Murcia, where their work in food distribution and medical aid again drew a warm response from the Spanish authorities.

Although there is the odd unnecessary error, such as suggesting the Lord Atlee (sic) was the British prime minister in 1938, this does not detract from the importance of the book. Using a lot of material not previously available, it is another valuable contribution to recognising and honouring the dedication and sacrifice of all those who went to aid Spain.

Alan Lloyd