Skip to main content

The Spanish Civil War

Page 6 – New Zealanders in the Spanish Civil War

The following list names those from New Zealand, or who later came to live in New Zealand, for whom there is evidence of involvement in the Spanish Civil War. Those whose names appear in bold were killed in action in the war.

NameBirth date and placeDeath date and placeSpanish Civil War service
Angermann, Dr Marianne1904, Germany1977, NZMedical assistant, Republican Army medical services, 1936–39
Belcher, William Redmond Morrison1 January 1912, Geelong, Australia14 February 1999, Waiheke IslandAnarchist militia, 1936–1938
Bielschowsky, Dr Franz David1902, GermanyDunedin, 1965Doctor, Republican Army medical services, 1936–39
Bryan, Herbert Richard1908, Timaru1961, DunedinBritish Battalion, International Brigades, 1938
Cox, Sir Geoffrey Sandford7 April 1910, Rangitīkei2 April 2008, Gloucestershire, EnglandJournalist, Madrid, October–December 1936
Cross, Phllip E.17 March 1906, Hamilton14 February 1965, WhangāreiNationalist (pro-Franco) army, 1936–37
De Treend, Leonardo Pedro6 October 1919, San Sebastian, Spain(living in Hastings, NZ)POUM and militia, 1937–38
Dodds, Isobel (later McGuire)15 September 1913, Auckland(living in Auckland)Nurse, International Brigades, July 1937–October 1938
Droescher, Werner Otto5 January 1911, Karlsruhe, Germany1979, AucklandAnarchist and other militia, 1936–38
Ford, Robert1910, US1993, AucklandLincoln Battalion, International Brigades, May 1937–October 1938
Gray, Bernard Maurice20 May 1912, Masterton1984, Lower HuttBritish Battalion, International Brigades
Griffiths, Eric Neville9 September 1912, England23 February 1942, Nadi, FijiPilot, Spanish Air Force, 1936–37
Hoy, Jim26 February 1910, Liverpool, UK18 December 1997, WellingtonBritish Battalion, International Brigades, 1938 (?)
Jolly, Dr Douglas Waddell16 December 1904, Cromwell19 December 1983, Surrey, EnglandLieutenant-surgeon, Republican Army Medical Corps, February 1937–October 1938
Kent, John Horatio (Jack)Eltham, February 191131 May 1937, Barcelona, SpainVolunteer for International Brigades
McDonald, William Murn1913, Dunedin1968, Lisbon, PortugalAbraham Lincoln and Garibaldi Battalions, International Brigades, January 1937–October 1938
MacIntosh, Dr Robert Reynolds17 October 1897, Timaru28 August 1989, EnglandAnaesthetist, Nationalist Army medical services, 1937
Maclaurin, Griffith Campbell19 September 1909, Auckland10 November 1936, MadridCommune de Paris Battalion, International Brigades, November 1936
Maclure, Alexander Crocker25 November 1911, Montreal, CanadaOctober 1937, Fuentes de Ebro‘Mac-Pap’ and Lincoln Battalions, International Brigades, MarchOctober 1937
Madigan, William, aka ‘Martinez’24 July 1916, Wellington (?)1938, SpainLincoln Battalion, International Brigades, 1 937–38
Montgomery, Dr Gladys4 June 1891, Hamilton23 December 1969, AucklandDoctor, British medical unit, 1937
Morris, Dorothy A.c. 1903–04, Christchurch (?)23 January 1998, ChristchurchNurse, International Brigades, February 1937–39
Riley, Charles Francis (Dennis)1893, Stepney, London21 November 1982, Lower HuttBritish Battalion, International Brigades, 1937–38
Robertson, Frederick Holmes15 February, Cairo, Egypt1937, Jarama, SpainBritish Battalion, International Brigades, 1937
Russell, Sir Peter24 October 1913, Christchurch22 June 2006, Oxford, UKCovert intelligence agent, British government
Shadbolt, René (Renee) Mary26 April 1903, Duvauchelle, Akaroa16 August 1977, Henderson, AucklandNursing sister, International Brigades, February 1937–October 1938

Sharples, Rubi Millicent (née

Milner)

1892, Temuka4 April 1945, AucklandNurse, International Brigades, July 1937–May 1938
Spiller, Herbert Leonard (Tom)1909, Napier12 December 1984, WellingtonBritish Battalion, International Brigades, 1937
Texidor, Greville1902, London1962, AustraliaWomen’s militia, anarchist militia, supporting orphaned children
Wilson, Beryl Una8 March 1907, NZ1993, AucklandTheatre nurse, International Brigades, December 1936–1938
Yates, Stevec. 1895, NZ10 November 1936, MadridCommune de Paris Battalion, International Brigades, November 1936

This table is an updated version of a list published in Mark Derby (ed.), Kiwi compañeros: New Zealand and the Spanish Civil War, Canterbury University Press, Christchurch, 2009.

The researchers welcome any further information on the above names, and on others we may have missed. Please contact: Spanish War, c/- Labour History Project, PO Box 27-425, Wellington, email [email protected], or leave a community contribution below.


How to cite this page

New Zealanders in the Spanish Civil War, URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/spanish-civil-war/new-zealanders, (Manatū Taonga — Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated