A Bullet Saved My Life
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Welsh miner Tom Jones survived a death sentence to be repatriated from Franco’s Spain after the UK government paid a massive ransom. Jones, from Rhosllanerchrugog, Denbighshire, travelled to Spain in 1937 to fight for the International Brigades. He was wounded during the fierce battle on the River Ebro, in July 1938, and captured by Franco’s troops.
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Seventy-five years ago this month a group of military officers led a coup in Spain. But when the cities of Madrid and Barcelona held firm, the failed coup d’etat became a bloody civil war which would last from 1936 until 1939. The far-right governments of Germany and Italy supported the right wing rebels of General
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I have a small number of copies of the Spanish Civil War book ‘A Bullet Saved My Life’ available for sale. The book, which was a Morning Star book of the week when it came out in 2006, tells the story of Welshman Bob Peters and his adventures in getting to and fighting in the
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Rhondda-born Alun Menai Williams had two remarkable photographs in his collection.One was a sad reminder of a friend, Billy Davies, who served in the Spanish Civil War, and was killed a few days after the snap was taken.The other was a source of immense pride. It showed Alun marching to the front, the flag of
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A Welshman, who helped rescue more than 2,600 refugees from Spain during the civil war, was this week honoured by the people of Alicante.Archibald Dickson, captain of the merchant steam ship Stanbrook, risked his life to enter the port as the civil war drew to a close.On Sunday, his son and daughter, Arnold Dickson and
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WALES’ last veteran of the Spanish Civil War has died. Bob Peters, was the last surviving member of a brave generation of Welsh men, who volunteered to fight fascism in Spain in the 1930s.He died on Monday, aged 92, after a brave battle with cancer.Today First Minister Rhodri Morgan paid tribute to Mr Peters, saying
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A Bullet Saved My Life tells the remarkable story of Bob Peters, one of the last surviving veterans of the Spanish Civil War.Penarth-born Bob left Wales to go to Canada during the Depression. He found work on the Great Lakes and also became interested in politics.Early in 1937 he sailed from New York to France
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Good turn out for today’s Dic Penderyn Commemoration which took place at the entrance to Cardiff market where he was hanged in 1831.The event honoured not only Penderyn, but the late Councillor Charlie Gale and Welsh volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, especially Alun Menai-Williams who died last month and Bob Peters.The event was hosted
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For those interested in Welsh links to the Spanish Civil War, there is an article on Alun Menai Williams in April’s Military History magazine which is now in all good bookshops (as they say).I’m presently working with Alun on a book about the Battle of the Ebro. It’s a follow up to his engrossing memoir
Greg Lewis 