‘Churchill’s Spaniards’: The untold story of those who fought Hitler

Ángel Camarena took part in one of the most dangerous SAS operations of the Second World War when 30 troopers lost their lives after being ambushed by the Nazis.

He survived the battle to fight again for the elite fighting force in another operation as the British army crossed the Rhine in the dying days of the war in their trademark jeeps.

Camarena also took part in an SAS operation to force the surrender of the German army in Norway as Hitler was about to fall.

His extraordinary life also included escaping execution at the hands of the Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco, joining the Allies in North Africa, and signing up for the SAS.

It is just one among many remarkable tales told in “Churchill’s Spaniards”, a book about 1,200 Spaniards who joined the British army during the Second World War to help Winston Churchill defeat fascism.

Séan Scullion, a lieutenant colonel in the British army who is based in the Netherlands where he works for NATO, spent the past eight years researching the book.

In gripping prose, which suits the daring exploits of these men, Scullion tells the stories of the Spaniards who joined the SAS, others worked as spies for the Special Operations Executive or fought on battlefronts from Tobruk, Salermo, Normandy, Arnhem and the Ardennes.

The SAS troopers took on names like Robert Bruce, Frank Williams and one even wanted to be named after the English naval hero Sir Francis Drake but was forbidden.

But inside, all these “hard as nails” SAS men were Spanish to their bones.

The British names were partly to avoid being repatriated to Franco’s Spain should they be captured and to evade immediate execution as in Hitler ordered all commandos should be executed if captured.

The book relates the heroism of these men who were already veterans of the Spanish civil war when they enlisted for Britain.

After the victory of Franco in 1939, some Republicans ended up in refugee camps in southern France.

At first, they joined the French Foreign Legion to fight the Germans after the Nazi invasion of France in 1940.  After the fall of France, many wanted to join the British as they had a good reputation, and the Spaniards had not been treated well by the French.

A second wave of Spanish troops joined the British in 1942 after the liberation of North Africa by Allied troops. Some joined the SAS and took part in long-distance desert forays.

Hotheaded heroes

The only exclusively Iberian company was the No 1 Spanish Company of the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps.

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Some of its members were judged “hotheads” by their British officers during training but they lacked nothing in terms of gallantry.  

In 1945, after the victory over Germany, Spaniards who had risked their lives were disappointed that the Allies did not try to bring down Franco. Nevertheless, some settled down and created associations to carry on the resistance against Franco from Britain.

Individual tales of heroism make the book a great read.

Before the Spanish civil war, Camarena was a driver for Franco and would push the future dictator’s daughter on her swing.

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When the Spanish civil war broke out, he was arrested as a Republican and sentenced to death. As he was about to be executed, he dived off a prison ship but was picked up by a passing British ship and handed back to the Spanish – on condition he was not killed.

After five years in prison, he was released and escaped to the Allied side in North Africa where he eventually joined the SAS.

“Camarena was involved in an operation called Archway. The SAS drove all the way from the UK in their jeeps to the Rhine River in Germany at the end of the war and the objective was to harass the German retreat,” Scullion told Euronews Culture.

“They got really close to Hamburg and this is where Camerena comes across a Spanish nurse in a hospital who was working with the Germans because she was a Francoist. There is an altercation.”

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“There are some stories of SAS troopers driving back to the UK in their jeeps with their weapons fully loaded. It is a bit surreal.”

Another remarkable character was Rafael Ramos Masens who took part in a battle which seems like something straight out of the recent BBC television series SAS: Rogue Heroes. 

In the dying days of the war, commandos from the SAS parachuted behind enemy lines to attack a crack German mountain unit.

Ramos killed six Germans and carried his wounded captain to safety. His actions earned him the Military Medal for extraordinary bravery behind enemy lines. 

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Ramos had already fought in two battles and walked 125 miles before he took part in the Italian battle.

Some Spaniards trained for secret work for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) inside Spain under the auspices of James Bond creator Ian Fleming and Kim Philby, who was later unmasked as a Russian spy.

They took part in Operation Goldeneye which was the plan in case the Germans invaded Spain to capture Gibraltar.

“Some of them ended up in Gibraltar to listen to Spanish radio transmissions.  The Germans were in touch with the Spanish.  Some also did work with the Office of Strategic Services (the American precursor of the CIA),” said Scullion.  

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One Spaniard who served in this unit was Esteban Molina, father of Alfred Molina, the British actor and Hollywood star.

Another remarkable figure was Alfonso Canovas, an SOE officer who was awarded a Military Medal for helping the liberation of a French town.  

His grandson Jason Canovas was the sound director on Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and was nominated for an Oscar.   

Scullion, who spent part of his childhood in Spain, was inspired to write the book by the Spanish role with the British army in defeating Hitler.

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“A lot of people are aware of the Spanish role in things in France and with the French. But nobody has talked about (what they did with) the British and the amazing things they did. Hopefully this book will remedy that,” he said.  

Families of the Spaniards who fought to defeat fascism are hoping Britain or Spain will honour these men with a monument.  

“Churchill’s Spaniards” by Séan Scullionis out now and published by Helion & Company.