The first attempt by Alun Menai Williams, who has died aged 93, to join the International Brigade and fight fascism in the Spanish civil war ended when the trawler he was travelling on was turned back by a gunboat. Then, a passage by ship from Marseilles to Barcelona was aborted. The third attempt, though successful, nearly cost Williams his life; his Barcelona-bound steamer was torpedoed by an Italian submarine, and he was rescued by a Spanish fishing boat. Williams was one of the last survivors of the 2,400 British volunteers in Spain; 526 died during the conflict and fewer than 20 are still alive.
Once again, nobody writes an obituary like the british |