WELSH MINERS AND THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR:
SOURCES AND QUESTIONS	

Here is a collection of sources dealing with the involvement of Welsh miners in the Spanish Civil War. Some of these are written sources (e.g. letters and newspaper articles), some are visual sources (e.g. photographs) and some are audio sources (tape recordings). 

The written and visual sources appear as ‘thumbnails’, which can be enlarged by positioning the cursor on the image and clicking once. Why not enlarge and read some of the sources before answering the questions?

Alongside the thumbnails and audio clips are a series of questions. These are designed to help you to interpret the sources and use them as evidence for your statements about the role of Welsh miners in the Spanish Civil War.

Whereas some general questions can be applied to any source (How /why was it produced? What does it tell us about…..? How valuable/useful is it?), different kinds of working questions tend to be associated with particular types of source.

Written sources:
Who was the author?
When was it written?
Under what circumstances/in what context was it written?
How did it come to light?
What was the intended audience?
How might this have affected the content/tone of the source?
What was the author’s likely perspective or point of view?
What is the author’s level of knowledge? What does he know/not know?
Is the author likely to have been ‘positioned’ in some way (unintended bias)?
Might the author have some reason for lying or distorting the truth (intended bias)?

Photographic sources (in addition to some of the above):
What does the photograph show?
What can we assume from the photograph about the period or events described?
What does the photograph not show – how is it limited?
How plausible/typical is the image – does it seem to have been ‘posed’ in some way?
What methods has the photographer used to create mood or feeling in the image?

Audio sources (taped reminiscences):
What is the speaker able to remember? Does it amount to a coherent account?
What has the speaker chosen to remember? 
Do omissions appear to be accidental or deliberate? If deliberate, why?
Are details of individual recount backed up by other kinds of evidence?
What characteristics of the speaker are revealed by what he/she says?

WELSH MINERS AND THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR:
SOURCES AND QUESTIONS	
 
SECTION 1 - REASONS FOR VOLUNTEERING: 

Source 1 [SWCC AUD 01: 0900-1025]:
Link caption: Memories of Edwin Greening of Aberdare – member of the British battalion of the International Brigade, 1937-9.  

Source 2 [SWCC AUD 02: 4100-4615]:
Link caption: Memories of James Brewer of Rhymney, Monmouthshire – member of the British Battalion of the International Brigade 1937-9.

Source 3 [SWCC AUD 03: 0849-1050]:
Link caption: Memories of Michael O’Donoghue of Merthyr Tydfil – member of the British Battalion of the International Brigade 1937-9.

 Source 4 [SWCC DOC 206/03 – first two columns only]:
[Thumbnail caption: Article from the ‘Aberdare Leader’, including letters from Will Lloyd and Bob Condon of Aberaman, members of the International Brigade in Spain, to Tom Evans, Secretary of the Communist Party in Aberdare.

SECTION 1 – TASKS AND QUESTIONS:

First, read again the paragraph in the Introduction, headed “Foreign intervention: individual responses”. 
Next, listen to Sources 1-3 and study the newspaper article, Source 4
Now, make a grid similar to that shown below, and use it to list the reasons given in each of Sources 1-4 for volunteering to go to Spain.

Source	Volunteer(s)	Reason(s) for volunteering to fight in Spain	
1	Edwin Greening	
	
2	James Brewer 	
	
3	Michael O’Donoghue	
	
4	Will Lloyd
Bob Condon		

Question 1:  
(a)	What reasons do the men (including ‘Our Own Reporter’ in Source 4) give for going to Spain? 
(b)	Were all the reasons the same? If not, how would you account for this?
(c)	What political party do you think the Aberdare Leader supports?
(d)	These men were not usually well educated, so how would they have developed their knowledge of international politics?

WELSH MINERS AND THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR:
SOURCES AND QUESTIONS	

SECTION 2- THE JOURNEY TO SPAIN:

Source 5 [SWCC AUD 01: 1138-1338]:
Edwin Greening describes how he volunteered for Spain “through the Party”.

Source 6 [SWCC AUD 01: 1338-2020]:
Edwin Greening describes recruitment procedures and the journey to Spain

Source 7 [SWCC AUD 02: 5010-5750]:
James Brewer describes his journey to Spain

Source 8 [SWCC AUD 03: 1214-1900]:
Michael O’Donoghue describes his journey to Spain

Source 9 [SWCC DOC 206/05 – first two columns only]:
Article in the Aberdare Leader, in which Will Lloyd gives brief details of his journey to, and arrival in Spain.  

SECTION 2 – TASKS AND QUESTIONS:

First, look at Map 1: The Journey to Spain that appears at the beginning of the unit and read paragraph in the Introduction, headed “Foreign Intervention: Government responses”.
With the map in front of you, listen to each of the tape extracts.
Now prepare a grid similar to the one below for summarising information.

Source	Details of journey/arrival/training	
5		
6		
7		
8		
9		

Question 2:

(a)	Look back at Source 4. What evidence does the source contain that the journey to Spain had to be kept secret?
(b)	How is this evidence supported by Sources 5-8?
(c)	Why would these men have had to travel in secret?
(d)	What similarities can be found in the travel experiences of Edwin Greening and James Brewer (Sources 6 and 7)?
(e)	Michael O’Donoghue (Source 8) is more secretive than the other two speakers. Does this make his ‘story’ more or less useful as evidence about the journey to Spain?
(f)	Look at Source 9 – what kinds of things were on the volunteers’ minds when writing home for the first time?
(g)	Imagine you are a volunteer from South Wales. You have just arrived at the headquarters of the International Brigades in Albacete. Compose a letter to a relative back home describing your journey and first impressions of Spain.

This is really a test of how well you have understood the evidence presented in Sources 5-9 and of how well you can use details from the evidence to produce a well-structured account. You might find the following table useful as a means of collecting details and organising your story:

Background –  In work or unemployed? Political views? – reasons for volunteering?
	
Recruitment in Cardiff – Need for secrecy

Meeting with other volunteers in London

Paris and the journey through France

Arrival at Figueres, near Barcelona– initial training

Conditions in Albacete. – first thoughts about being a member of the International Brigade.

 

WELSH MINERS AND THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR:
SOURCES AND QUESTIONS	

 SECTION 3- FIGHTING IN THE WAR:

Source 10 [PHO/SCW/3] 
Welshmen in the International Brigades. 
Back row, left to right: Alwyn Skinner of Neath (killed in Spain), Fred Morris, Maerdy, Ben Davies, Newport and C.E.Palmer of Llandudno. 
Middle Row: Archie Cook, Ystrad Rhondda, Hector Manning, Dinas, Harry Dobson, Blaenclydach (killed in Spain), Arthur Williams, Penrhiwfer).
Front Row, Jack Roberts,Abertridwr, Ted Edwards, Machynlleth, Morris Davies, Treharris.

Source 11 [PHO/SCW/6]
British platoon before the Ebro Offensive. Tom Glyn Evans of Kenfig Hill is standing centre, with beret and Morris Davies of Treharris is kneeling far right.
  
Source 12 [PHO/SCW/8]  
British Battalion volunteers before the Ebro Offensive, Summer 1938. Brazell Thomas, Llanelli, is third from the left, front row. 

Source 13 [PHO/SCW/9]  
British Battalion officers before before the Ebro Offensive, Summer 1938. Standing, left to right, Fred Morris, Maerdy, Tom Glyn Evans, Kenfig Hill, Morris Davies, Treharris. Front centre with watch, Sam Wild, Battalion commander.

Source 14 [PHO/SCW/10]  
British Battalion volunteers at the front, including Jack Murray of Maesteg, standing third from the left. 

Source 15 [SWCC DOC 206/04]:
Letter from Bob Condon of Aberaman to the ‘Aberdare Leader’ (April 1937) – “Bullets Singing Death”

Source 16 [SWCC DOC 206/06]:
Article from ‘Aberdare Leader’ (May 1937). Will Lloyd describes how British bravery in defence of the Valencia Road prevented the Fascists from taking Madrid.

Source 17 [SWCC AUD 01: 2408-3030]:
Edwin Greening describes his first experiences under fire.

Source 18[SWCC AUD 01: 3620-4120]:
Edwin Greening describes details of the action around Gandesa.

Source 19 [SWCC AUD 03: 1900-2400]:
Michael O’Donoghue describes fighting at Jamara and Brunete, including the deaths in action of Alwyn Harris of Llanelli and Ramon Rodriguez of Dowlais.

Source 20 [SWCC AUD 02: 6700-7330]:
James Brewer describes action on the Ebro, including comments on the effectiveness of ‘political commissars’.   

Sources 21-26 [See below]:
Selection of Republican war posters produced during the Spanish Civil War.

SECTION 3 – TASKS AND QUESTIONS:

Question 3:

(a)	Study the photographs (Sources 10-14). What do they suggest about (i) the morale, (ii) the equipment of the British Battalion? 
(b)	How useful are these images likely to be as evidence about soldiers’ experiences in the Spanish Civil War? 
(c)	What does Source 15 reveal about (i) the kind of people that joined the International Brigades, (ii) the attitudes of the Spanish people towards the International Brigades?
(d)	How can you tell that The Aberdare Leader (Sources 15 and 16) was on the side of the Republicans?
(e)	What overall impression is given in The Aberdare Leader about the attitudes of volunteers towards fighting in the Spanish Civil War?
(f)	Given that Will Lloyd was back in South Wales to raise support for the Republican war effort when Source 16 was written, how reliable do you consider the source to be?
(g)	Use the following grid to make brief notes from the tapes (Sources 17-20) under the following headings:

Aspect of fighting	Source(s)	Evidence	
Basic training			
Supplies & equipment			
Details of fighting 			
Attitudes to the war.			

(h)	How far are attitudes to the war shown in the tapes (i) similar to, (ii) different from those suggested by The Aberdare Leader (Sources 15-16) and by the war posters (Sources 21-26)? Use the table below to complete your answer.

Source type	Attitudes to the war	
Personal recollections		
Aberdare Leader		
War posters		

(i)	This section contains several different kinds of historical sources. Using the table below, discuss the strengths and limitations of each as historical evidence about fighting in the Spanish Civil War.
 
Type of source	Strength(s)	Limitation(s)	
Photographs	
		
Newspaper articles	
		
Personal recollections	
		
Posters	

Source 21

Source 22

Source 23

Source 24

Source 25							  Source 26

WELSH MINERS AND THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR:
SUMMARY	

SECTION 4 – SUMMARY: WHAT KIND OF EXPERIENCE WAS IT? 

Look at the following comments by the famous writer, George Orwell. Orwell served in various Republican militias in and around Barcelona. He was not a member of the International Brigades and had made his own way to Spain rather than being recruited by the Communist Party as in the case of most of the Welsh volunteers.

The war… has left me with memories that are mostly evil, and yet I do not wish that I had missed it… Curiously enough the whole experience has left me with not less but more belief in the decency of human beings.
George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia (1938).

Question 4:
Using any of the sources provided, discuss whether or not the Welsh miners who went to Spain might have agreed with Orwell’s comments. 

The following writing frame may help you to organise your thoughts:

The war… has left me with memories that are mostly evil, and yet I do not wish that I had missed it… Curiously enough the whole experience has left me with not less but more belief in the decency of human beings.	
Evidence of agreement with Orwell’s view:
(examples of idealism, suffering, bravery, kindness)

Reliability of the evidence….

Evidence of disagreement with Orwell’s view:
(examples of meanness, cruelty, incompetence) 

Reliability of the evidence…….

Judgement: On the whole, I would say that Welsh miners who volunteered to go to Spain would have agreed/disagreed with George Orwell……