JoeyCape1977
03-05-2008, 10:09 PM
Steve Fullarton, Scotland's last surviving veteran of the Spanish Civil War's International Brigade passed away in an Edinburgh care home last Friday aged 87.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r107/foresthillsdesigngroup/Steve-Fullarton-internation.jpg
Newsreels of the war prompted many in Glasgow's working class areas to try and help in any way possible. In a country not long clear of its own conflict - Steve's father had died in 1936 of injuries sustained in the First World War - the news made a big impact. Steve recalled: "They bombed Barcelona and Madrid, which was the first time planes had been used to bomb civilians. People were horrified this kind of thing was going on but there was no attempt to stop them. There was this worldwide movement to provide food and ships for the Spanish Republic. I used to help with collections. A lorry would go around the streets with a man on a megaphone giving the reasons why people should contribute to the relief of the Spanish people."
Volunteering for the International Brigade came about almost by chance, when at a Saturday night dance Steve spoke to the organiser of the local Communist Party. Things moved quickly. After a brief visit to a Communist Party HQ in Glasgow, Steve was sent to Paris with five other Scots... although his volunteering almost came to an abrupt end thanks to flat feet. But Steve argued his case, was allowed to carry on, and embarked on a journey to the south of France, then, overnight following smugglers' routes through the Pyrenees into Spain. Basic training was done with wooden rifles but by the time he was able to join a retreating British battalion at Reus he had a real rifle. "It was dated 1896 so you can imagine how modern it was." Eventually the battalion crossed the River Ebro and joined the front line, although with little success. Then a frontal attack was ordered on a hilltop strong point but was a spectacular failure with heavy losses. "When the battle was all over, there wasn't a sound. All around me there were dead and wounded. I don't know how anyone escaped. To start with I was the only one moving. I was tending to a wounded man, the lieutenant in charge of my unit. He told me to find a safe place to hide until it was dark, then come back for him. I was just getting in the hole I had selected when bang! That was me." He had been shot in the right hip. Still conscious, he managed to make his way back to the Brigade line, but then he slipped into unconsciousness before waking up in a makeshift hospital in Tarragona. During his recovery the Republic decided to disband the International Brigades and he arrived back in Scoland on December 23 1938.
During the Second World War Steve served with the RAF and afterwards married and had three children.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r107/foresthillsdesigngroup/pass01_w.jpg
This is Glasgow's monument to the International Brigades. It's situated on the banks of the river Clyde.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r107/foresthillsdesigngroup/b2128_w.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r107/foresthillsdesigngroup/Steve-Fullarton-internation.jpg
Newsreels of the war prompted many in Glasgow's working class areas to try and help in any way possible. In a country not long clear of its own conflict - Steve's father had died in 1936 of injuries sustained in the First World War - the news made a big impact. Steve recalled: "They bombed Barcelona and Madrid, which was the first time planes had been used to bomb civilians. People were horrified this kind of thing was going on but there was no attempt to stop them. There was this worldwide movement to provide food and ships for the Spanish Republic. I used to help with collections. A lorry would go around the streets with a man on a megaphone giving the reasons why people should contribute to the relief of the Spanish people."
Volunteering for the International Brigade came about almost by chance, when at a Saturday night dance Steve spoke to the organiser of the local Communist Party. Things moved quickly. After a brief visit to a Communist Party HQ in Glasgow, Steve was sent to Paris with five other Scots... although his volunteering almost came to an abrupt end thanks to flat feet. But Steve argued his case, was allowed to carry on, and embarked on a journey to the south of France, then, overnight following smugglers' routes through the Pyrenees into Spain. Basic training was done with wooden rifles but by the time he was able to join a retreating British battalion at Reus he had a real rifle. "It was dated 1896 so you can imagine how modern it was." Eventually the battalion crossed the River Ebro and joined the front line, although with little success. Then a frontal attack was ordered on a hilltop strong point but was a spectacular failure with heavy losses. "When the battle was all over, there wasn't a sound. All around me there were dead and wounded. I don't know how anyone escaped. To start with I was the only one moving. I was tending to a wounded man, the lieutenant in charge of my unit. He told me to find a safe place to hide until it was dark, then come back for him. I was just getting in the hole I had selected when bang! That was me." He had been shot in the right hip. Still conscious, he managed to make his way back to the Brigade line, but then he slipped into unconsciousness before waking up in a makeshift hospital in Tarragona. During his recovery the Republic decided to disband the International Brigades and he arrived back in Scoland on December 23 1938.
During the Second World War Steve served with the RAF and afterwards married and had three children.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r107/foresthillsdesigngroup/pass01_w.jpg
This is Glasgow's monument to the International Brigades. It's situated on the banks of the river Clyde.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r107/foresthillsdesigngroup/b2128_w.jpg