Salud, Alun

Alun Menai-Williams, one of the last remaining British veterans of the Spanish Civil War, died yesterday.
He was 93.
Alun lived a remarkable life. As a medic in Spain, as an RAF policeman in World War 2, as a loving family man who rarely talked about his experiences.
And then after his wife died in 1998 he wrote a wonderful book of his early life in the Rhondda and his travels to Spain. It made him new friends around the world.
He had close friends here in Wales, like Alan Warren and Mary Greening, friends in Spain, like Anna Marti, and received emails and letters from around the world.
I met him once or twice a week for a cup of tea and a biscuit during the last year of his life.
We chatted about all sorts, every topic under the sun. Even this blog.
Sat in his favourite chair, Alun would say to me: “Thank you for talking to me, Greg.”
No, Alun. Thank you for talking to me.