Shapurji Saklatvala Battalion British Battalion
Active	January 1937 – October 1938
Country	United Kingdom
Allegiance	Spain
Branch	International Brigades
Type	Battalion – Infantry
Size	One battalion
Part of	XV International Brigade
Garrison/HQ	Albacete
Nickname(s)	Batallón Británico
Engagements	Spanish Civil War Battle of Jarama Battle of Brunete Battle of Teruel Battle of the Ebro

TheBritish Battalion (1936–1938; officially theSaklatvala Battalion) was the 16th battalion of theXV International Brigade, one of themixed brigades of theInternational Brigades, during theSpanish Civil War. It comprised British andDominion volunteers.

A number of British volunteers, includingTom Wintringham, David Marshall and Ramona and Nat Cohen, and Scots nurseAnnie Murray, arrived inSpain during August–September 1936. The men formed theTom Mann Centuria, and in July/August they had been part of an attempt to liberateMajorca. Later they were joined by Bill Scott, becoming a rifle company in the German-speaking Thälmann Column. TheThälmann Battalion later formed part ofXII International Brigade and fought in theSiege of Madrid, including theBattle of Ciudad Universitaria.^[1][2]

Another group of British volunteers – among themJock Cunningham andJohn Cornford – fought with the French-speakingCommune de Paris Battalion, in theXI International Brigade. It also fought in the Siege of Madrid, including the battles forUniversity City andCasa de Campo.

In December 1936, 145 British volunteers formed No. 1 Company of the French-speakingMarseillaise Battalion, part of theXIV International Brigade. They fought on theCórdoba front during December, and on the Madrid front during January 1937. Heavy fighting on 15 January atLas Rozas reduced the active ranks to 67.

In January 1937, the survivors of No.1 Company joined with 450 new British,Irish, andDominion volunteers atMadrigueras, nearAlbacete, International Brigades headquarters. They were formed into an English-speaking battalion, with three infantry companies (Nos. 1, 3, 4) and a machine-gun company (no. 2). Its initial commanding officer was Wilfred Macartney,^[3] a former British Army officer who had served both in theBlack & Tans and Spanish Foreign Legion, and then been sentenced to 10 years in HMP Parkhurst for spying for Russia.^[4][5][6] CanadianBert "Yank" Levy served as an officer in No.2 company of theSaklatvala Battalion, under Wintringham from 1937. He was captured at theBattle of Jarama and spent six months in aFrancoist gaol until he was released in a prisoner exchange.

The battalion was numbered the 16th battalion of the International Brigades. It was formally named afterShapurji Saklatvala, the formerCommunistMember of Parliament (MP) forBattersea. However, this name never caught on and it was normally known as the "British Battalion". The Spanish also referred to it as "el batallón británico" or "el batallón inglés". Number 1 company was later called theMajor Attlee Company after the leader of theBritish Labour Party, who visited the British volunteers in December 1937.

The British Battalion was attached toXV International Brigade,XV IB. The other battalions were the USLincoln Battalion, the crackBalkanDimitrov Battalion, and the Franco-BelgianSixth February Battalion. In early February 1937 Macartney was recalled to the UK by his parole board. En route to the railway station at Albacete he was accidentally shot in the arm by the battalion commissar, necessitating transfer of command toTom Wintringham.^[7]

In February 1937, the battalion fought at theBattle of Jarama. In a single day's bloody fighting on 12 February againstMoors of the 7thTabor of Melilla, part of the 8th Regiment ofFrancisco Franco'sArmy of Africa, the British Battalion suffered 275 casualties in No.1, No.3, and No.4 companies – leaving 125 riflemen fit for duty.^[8] On the second day of fighting, the machine gun company was surrounded by Spanish Nationalist troops and many of its members were captured. Battalion commanderTom Wintringham was wounded, and Jock Cunningham took command of the battalion's 140 survivors. On the third day of the battle the battalion was temporarily routed, but under the leadership of Cunningham and brigade commissarFrank Ryan, staged a counter-attack, singing theInternationale, in what would become known as the “Great Rally”. The battalion remained in the trenches atJarama until 17 June 1937.^[9]

Reinforced by new recruits and strengthened by returnees from hospital, the British Battalion mustered 331brigaders at theBattle of Brunete. On 6 July,XV IB occupied the villages ofRomanillos andBoadilla del Monte, and by midnight captured the village ofVillanueva de la Cañada. (It was here thatAlex McDade who wrote the song,Valley of Jarama, commonly heard at Brigade meetings, was killed in action.) The following day the British were ordered to advance on Mosquito Ridge, a piece of high ground which overlooked the battalion's original objectives. As they left Villanueva de la Cañada they were bombed by Junkers aircraft from theCondor Legion and shelled by Nationalist artillery. The two-hour barrage and devastating heat caused heavy casualties and prevented the battalion reaching Mosquito Ridge before Franco's army rushed reinforcements to defend the position. Only 42 members of the battalion were left fit for service, and the battalion was withdrawn into a reserve position.

In mid-August, the Republican 35th Division, which includedXV IB, was moved toAragon. The focus of the Aragon campaign was to draw-off Nationalist attacks onSantander and to capture the strategic city ofZaragoza. On 25 August the battalion took part in street fighting to capture the Nationalist strongpoint atQuinto, where Wintringham, now head of the Officer's School and attached to the American Lincoln and Canadian MacKenzie/Papineau battalions, was shot again, this time badly and injured out of the war. On 25 August the battalion attacked a strong Francoist position atPurburrel Hill, and was repelled by intense rifle and machine gun fire. The following day another assault was made on the hill, supported by the XVth Brigade antitank artillery battery, and this time the attack succeeded. Heavy fighting had reduced the battalion to 100 men, and a number of Spanish Republican troops were drafted as reinforcements for the battalion.

On 21 September 1938,Juan Negrín announced to theLeague of Nations that the Republican government woulddisband the International Brigades. The British battalion was withdrawn into reserve at the end of September 1938, and on 17 October, the battalion took part in the International Brigades' farewell parade throughBarcelona. PresidentAzaña and Prime Minister Negrín joined the crowds who took part in one of the last great Republican celebrations. On disbandment, 305 British volunteers left Spain. They arrived atVictoria Station on 7 December, to be met by a crowd of supporters includingClement Attlee,Stafford Cripps,Willie Gallacher, andWill Lawther.^[10]

A 2024 study found that 49% of the members of the British Battalion were members of theCommunist Party.^[11]

An estimated 300 people from Wales enlisted in the International Brigades, fighting Franco in Spain from 1936–39. Of the battalion’s 170 Welsh volunteers, 116 were miners, one in five was married and the average age was over 30. The South Wales miners provided the largest regional group in the British battalion.^[12][13]

An estimated 500 volunteers went from Scotland to Spain to oppose fascism and support the Republican government there. A high proportion were working class members of the Communist party (which organised the mobilisation and transportation across France), many went in on foot over the Pyrenees.^[14] A Scottish Ambulance Unit was also sent to Spain; it dispensed food donations but mainly provided first aid and treatment of the wounded from the front.^[14]

The battalion contained a cadre of Irish volunteers who had previously been organized as the "James Connolly Company" (unofficially, the "Connolly Column"). A number of these men were unhappy in the British battalion due to theirIrish Republican convictions. However their leader,Frank Ryan, wrote of the importance of workers solidarity outweighing national sentiment.^[15] As a result of these tensions, some of the Irish left the British to join the 17th (American)Lincoln Battalion, another part of the XV Brigade. Later, at theBattle of Belchite in 1937,Paddy O'Daire of the Connolly's took command of the British battalion following the wounding of the then CO,Peter Daly.^[16]

TheInternational Brigade Memorial Trust has been established by veterans and historians to preserve and catalog the history of the British Battalion.

The IBMT has compiled a roll of honour, listing the members of the British battalion who fell in Spain.^[17] The list is compiled primarily from documents held in the International Brigade Archive in the Marx Memorial Library, London and the International Brigade Archive in the Russian Centre for the Preservation and Study of Recent Historical Documents, Moscow.

• Bill Alexander – industrial chemist, commander of the British Battalion from 1938, later Assistant General Secretary of theCommunist Party of Great Britain.
• Christopher Caudwell – journalist, poet, killed in action at Jarama.
• Lewis Clive – Olympic gold medallist for rowing.
• Fred Copeman – former sailor, organiser of theInvergordon Mutiny, commanded the British Battalion during 1937.
• John Cornford – poet, killed in uncertain circumstances atLopera, nearCórdoba
• Jason Gurney – British sculptor, also served with theLincoln Battalion.
• Len Crome – doctor, neuropathologist, winner of theMilitary Cross during the Second World War.
• Jack Jones – later General Secretary of theTransport & General Workers Union.
• Laurie Lee – poet, novelist, author ofAs I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, a memoir which covers his experiences.
• Bert "Yank" Levy who used his experience to teach theBritish Home Guard and wrote a text onguerrilla warfare^[18][19]
• Will Paynter –NUM General Secretary 1959 – 1968
• Esmond Romilly – journalist, nephew ofWinston Churchill.
• Stephen Spender – poet, essayist, professor atUniversity College, London, knighted 1983.
• Alfred Sherman – Conservative philosopher, battalion Russian translator; taken prisoner in 1938.
• Wally Tapsell - political commissioner, killed in action in 1938.
• Tom Wintringham – journalist, author, commander of the British Battalion to 1937.
• Annie Murray - Scottish nurse, one of the first British volunteers, in September 1936, returned accompanying the injured in 1939.

• British Volunteers for Liberty: Spain, 1936–39, Bill Alexander, Lawrence & Wishart, 1983,ISBN 0-85315-564-X.
• No to Franco, the Struggle Never Stopped, 1939–1975, Bill Alexander, 1992,ISBN 0-9519667-0-7.
• British Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, Richard Baxell, Routledge, 2004,ISBN 0-203-64785-8.
• The Shallow Grave: Memoir of the Spanish Civil War, Walter Gregory, Gollancz, 1986,ISBN 0-575-03790-3.
• Reason in Revolt, Fred Copeman, Blandford Press, 1948. (Out of print)
• Britons in Spain – The History of the British Battalion of the XVTH International Brigade, William Rust, Lawrence & Wishart, 1939.
• Crusade in Spain, Jason Gurney, Faber. 1974.ISBN 978-0-571-10310-2
• We Cannot Park on Both Sides: Reading volunteers in the Spanish Civil War 1936–39, Mike Cooper and Ray Parkes, Reading International Brigades Memorial Committee, 2000.ISBN 0-9535448-0-X.
• Miners Against Fascism: Wales and the Spanish civil war, Hywel Francis, Lawrence & Wishart Ltd, 1984,ISBN 978-0853155775, 2012, Paperback 320pp
• Bradley, KenInternational Brigades in Spain 1936–39 with Mike Chappell (Illustrator) Published by Elite.ISBN 978-1855323674. Good basic introduction to the subject in a readable and well-illustrated format. Author made several visits to battlefields and interviewed veterans in the 1980s and 90’s.
• Voices from the Spanish Civil War: personal recollections of Scottish Volunteers in Republican Spain 1936-39 MacDougall, Ian. Polygon Edinburgh, 1986ISBN 0-948275-19-7
• O'Riordan, Michael. 2005 [2nd edition].Connolly Column: The story of the Irishmen who fought for the Spanish Republic 1936–1939. Torfaen: Warren & Pell.ISBN 0-9548904-2-6.

• Viva la Quinta Brigada – song byChristy Moore
• ILP Contingent
• International Brigades order of battle

• British Battalion at International Brigades in Spain
• British International Brigade veterans tell their stories – The Guardian
• The International Brigade Memorial Trust – www.international-brigades.org.uk
• History of the British Battalion, XV International Brigade – www.spartacus-educational.com/
• Irish vol. in SCW
• RealAudio interviews with British Battalion veteransArchived 22 January 2008 at theWayback Machine – www.iwm.org.uk
• Men who fought Franco fêted as Spain finally confronts its past – The Times, 15 July 2006
• flyer for 75th Anniversary Gala, showing banner listing battles

• 20th-century military history of the United Kingdom
• Military units and formations established in 1937
• Military units and formations disestablished in 1938
• International Brigades

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