The last surviving Scot who volunteered to fight in the Spanish Civil War has died at the age of 99.
Thomas Watters, originally from Glasgow, had been a corporation bus driver in the city before he went to Spain in 1936 as part of the Scottish ambulance unit.
Some 500 Scots joined the International Brigade to fight against Franco's army.
Mr Watters had been living in Hertfordshire for many years.
He received honorary Spanish citizenship in June 2009 at a ceremony in the Spanish Embassy in London.
The award was presented at that time to all survivors who had gone out to Spain between 1936 and 1939.
He subsequently returned to Glasgow in 2010 to speak at the ceremony rededicating the Pasionaria statue on the Clyde following its restoration.
Mike Arnott, who represents Scotland on the Committee of the International Brigade Memorial Trust, said: "I met Thomas on a number of occasions over the last two years.
"He was a truly inspirational and a lovely man, who will be greatly missed by his many friends and by all who knew him."
RIP Mr. Watters. I've been doing a bit of research on the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War and found it interesting to note that Ireland raised two contingents, one pro-republican and another pro-fascist:
It seems they continued their sectarian conflict from the 1920s further afield in Spain. Not sure if they ever faced each other in combat in Spain though.
[QUOTE=Connaught Ranger;6055000]May he + Rest In Peace +
The Irish with Eoin O'Duffy's "Blue Shirts," complete swastika flag sailed from Ireland after getting a blessing from the Arch-Bishop of Dublin.
I've heard O'Duffy's Irish Blueshirts didn't exactly distinguish themselves on the field, but I guess they deserve some credit for showing up. I get the impression that they were motivated to go to Spain to resist the Republic because of its anti-clerical excesses, rather than out of support for fascism. O'Duffy opposed the anti-Semitism of the European far right, although his Blueshirts were obviously influenced by some of these groups; for example, they adopted the fascist stiff-arm salute. De Valera, fearing a putsch, later had them suppressed.
In any case, may Mr. Watters rest in peace.
Last Spanish Civil War Scot Thomas Watters dies
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