An Ebro survivor

GEORGE Wheeler, one of the last British survivors of the International Brigades that fought in the Spanish Civil War has died, aged 91.

Born in Battersea in 1914, the son of a committed socialist, he left school at 14 before taking an apprenticeship and working as a joiner in Brentford for a company that made parts for Royal Navy ships.

Following the outbreak of civil war in Spain in 1936 his father, a Labour councillor, became an active member of the local Aid Spain Committee.

Inspired by a speech given by Aneurin Bevan at a rally in Trafalgar Square early in 1938 Mr Wheeler decided to volunteer for the Republican forces. Assisted by the Communist Party he departed for Spain in May 1938 accompanied by, among others, the trade unionist Jack Jones.

Within three months, he and his comrades in the British battalion were thrown into the dramatic Republican Ebro offensive which astonished those who had written off the Spanish loyalists.

However, Franco's superior forces - supplied with huge amounts of materiel by Hitler and Mussolini, despite an international agreement not to intervene in the conflict - soon reversed the Republican gains.

After seeing many of his comrades killed or wounded Mr Wheeler was finally captured by Franco's forces on September 23 1938.

He was fortunate not to be summarily executed and was imprisoned in the notorious PoW camp at San Pedro de Cardeña, near Burgos. Kept in appalling conditions, many prisoners died from a combination of disease, malnutrition and the frequent vicious beatings.

Finally released in April 1939, Mr Wheeler returned to London, work and marriage to Winifred, who died 10 years ago, before continuing his anti-fascist fight in the second world war.

Although he was in a reserved occupation, he became such a thorn in the side of management in his factory where he spoke out against waste of materials, that he was released to join the army.

Mr Wheeler became an army instructor and was posted to Freetown, Sierra Leone, to train local troops. Promoted to regimental sergeant major, he was due to travel with his troops to Burma, but he caught malaria and was unable to travel.

Surviving the second world war, he resumed his work as a carpenter and became an active trade unionist.

After his wife's death, he renewed his interest in the International Brigades and, to his obvious delight, his graphic account of his Spanish experiences, To Make the People Smile Again, was published in 2003.