Personal letters from Spanish Civil War

My Great Uncle William Dieter Gilmour wrote these letters home to his pal in Blairgowrie during the Spanish Civil War. I've been slowly scanning them in from the copies I got hold of through the Marx Library in London. I've typed them out in Word docs as well as some are hard to read from the scans.

I know it's not WW2 but his perspective is still from a soldiers point of view.

 

Didn't upload first time round

 

Great stuff, thanks for posting. Are you sure the Daily Mail told lies?:p
Regards,
Sean.

 

Here's G. Uncle Bills next couple of letters from Spain. There's around 20 letters in all. References to the Daily Mail in another later on if I recall correctly. Not a good word to say about that paper!!

 

Amberdog45,

Very good - did your great Great Uncle survive the war in Spain ? And if it isn't too personal a question. do you know what did he do after Sept 1939 and June 1941 ?

I read Homage to Catalonia when I was about 13 - very evocative and haunting.

Of course that much "esteemed" newspaper that William mentions was very supportive of the activities of a bunch of young chaps marching around London in shirts, which were not the whitest - viz their editorial of Jan 1934. Along with a substantial proportion of the monied class up to 1938.

The rag in question is still best used in the smallest room in the house..

thanks for the posting

best

 

Amberdog45,
The rag in question is still best used in the smallest room in the house..
best

I wouldn't even wipe my a**e with it!
Thanks for taking the time to post this stuff, its great. Laurie Lee's books are worth a look at, or Beevor's 'The Battle for Spain'. Looking forward to the next lot, cheers.
Sean.

 

Here's the next letter.

Hi Richard, it's interesting you read the Homage book. It was the other book, Homage to Caledonia written by Daniel Gray that revealed this relative to me in my ancestry search. Daniels book is dedicated to all the Scots that went to Spain.

Bill did survive the war, but as you will see from later letters he was shot in Spain. I've yet to find out if he served during WW2. He was in the Merchant Navy around 1919/1920. He's turning out to be a real character. I contacted Daniel Gray and that was how I discovered all of Bills letters at the Marx Library in London and these are all the copies I received.

Sean - to your delight more reference to the Daily Mail in this letter.

Will post more about Bill later.

 

Amber,

Excellent stuff - the thing that struck me about Orwell's "Homage" when I read it was all the internecine factions POUM / PSUC /CTN (a couple from my memory)....

I also saw a documentary on one of the history channels a few years ago covering a reunion of some of the International Brigade-rs, which included Jack Jones, who was a former head of the TGWU.

My questions about 1939 and 1941 (sounds like he might have been too old to join up). was to ascertain William's reaction to the Stalin/Hitler pact, and his changing outlook after June 21st 1941. My Mum and Dad knew several men/women who were conscientious objectors (of course, not all did so for political reasons). And a couple of them, who served in the rescue services in London. were killed during the Blitz. They clearly didn't lack for courage.

Interesting also about the reference to the Catholic church. My father, being a staunch anti communist was being fed a "pro Fascist" line in England. Of course attrocities were aplenty across the board. Ironically, in my father's time in Italy, one of his comrades was the son of one the British Fascist leaders - while the man's father was under house arrest in London, his son was winning the Military Cross..

By the way, did I give any impression that I wouldn't wipe my.. with the XXXXX XXXX. Still appallingly right wing, and providing headlines along the line of "Billionaire couple's child, to be born sometime in the 21st century, will be either a boy or a girl" (Or I might be confusing it with the other one published by the chap who makes his money from pornography..). Rant over.

Great letters,

best

 

Great stuff! There certainly were many factions, both Republican and Nationalist. My father was a very good friend and comrade of Jack Jones, they both worked together in the TGWU. Richard, I did not think for one second that you would put the DM anywhere near your posterior
Sean.

 

I'm starting to get confused myself about what I would/wouldn't do with it - of course wouldn't let it in the house, and I believe that the on line version is even worse.

Now back to the Spanish Civil War - just found this site The International Brigade Memorial Trust

look forward to reading more from amberdog45..

 

Hi, I did a wee spreadsheet to map out all the places I know Bill was connected to.

I don't know if he served in WW2 as he was fair skunnered by war by the end of his time in Spain.

Having said that I do know his elder brother Alexander Gilmour (born 1891) was a private with the 1st Battalion Glasgow Highlanders in 1939. (Alexanders wife died in 1939 at his mothers house is Blairgowrie and I got his rank and reg off her death certificate). I'm awaiting Alexander's service record but I'm in the middle of reading Mountain & Flood and from what I can gathered older soldiers probably wouldn't have made the grade. So I will be most interested to see what service his record reveals post '39.

I will at some point apply for the census return done in '39 to see where Bill was at. According to Homage to Caledonia those returning from Spain found it hard to join up for WW2 due to them being labelled communists.

 

Sorry, uploaded the wrong spreadsheet. Away to get more caffeine

 

Yes, at the age of 36 in 1939 he might have been on the elderly side, and added to the IB connections, perhaps no deal for the recruiters.

Alexander was 48..no doubt he didn't go overseas. I think Glasgow Highlanders got over to France/Belgium in 1944.

By the way, what is the 1939 census you refer to ?

best

 

A kind of census was taken to issue ID cards and ration books. If you can provide date of birth and death (if in Scotland) you can get a copy of what was recorded from the Edinburgh Registrars. Don't quote me but I believe the English paperwork was destroyed in a fire and little survives. If your relative was born but died outwith Scotland you have to provide a death certificate. The search is £15 if successful and a £5 admin/search fee if relative not found.

 

Hi Richard I've attached the copy from the 1939 register I received on my Gran Josephine, Bill's sister. It only gives basic information but I had to laugh that she made herself 4 years younger.

The box with Bill's letters in the Marx Library also contained quite a few photo's. Two in uniform, perhaps attached to the Scottish Horse and the other I have had suggested maybe Highland Light Inf. or possibly Black Watch. I do wonder though if the gent on the horse is perhaps his brother Alexander as I don't see a resemblance to the other photo.

Hopefully I've also uploaded a pic of his headstone in Blairgowrie where he is buried with his dog 'BaHeid'!

 

Nice - all loaded - what's the "outlaws" on the head stone referring to ?

Age changes in birth dates (understandable as it could be on occasion) can be a bit annoying for history tracking..

best

 

Richard, I really wish I knew what the 'outlaws' was refering to on his head stone. Just one of the mysteries surrounding Bill I'm afraid.

When I started out to do the family tree I knew nothing of Bill at all. It was only running his mothers name through Google and stumbling across the website Alternative Perthshire that I discovered Bill and his service during the Spanish Civil War.

The only concrete thing I had to go on was my cousin recalling that my Dad used to complain about the uncle that drank all the family money away in the big hoose at Blairgowrie, which turns out to be Bill. Why his mother didn't mention her other children (including my gran Josephine Gilmour/Perera) in her Will will remain one of those mysteries.

My Dad did inherit a table from his mother, Josephine, that had been sawn in half and I bet it stemmed from arguements over that estate.

 

Hi
This was broadcast on CBC some time ago
I found the series riveting:

Home | Living Out Loud with Chris Howden | CBC Radio

 

Theobob,

Just listening to the docu.. interesting to learn that the passport of the man who axed Trotsky in Mexico was carrying a passport of one of the Canadian IBs. The voices from the past are very moving.

Amberdog45

I would say that "Mystery" is an attribute often to be treasured

best

 

Thanks for the new links, will have to give them another try. Streaming anything to my computer is a nightmare. Still only getting a 1mb download on this telephone line!

Here's the next couple of letters and also a picture Bill sent to my gran (his sister Jospehine) in Feb 1938.