International Brigades in 1930s

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Recent events where Muslims resident in Britain have gone to Syria to join in the fighting there being arrested on their return takes me back to thinking of the number of British residents who went of to fight for the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War in the 1930's.

Were any of the British residents who fought with the International Brigades ever arrested on their return to Britain and does anyone know which law on the Statute Book applies at the current period of time that is being currently invoked. Was there a similar law on the Statute Book in the 1930's which could have been applied to those who fought for the International Brigades ?

 

[transmanche]

Recent events where Muslims resident in Britain have gone to Syria to join in the fighting there being arrested on their return takes me back to thinking of the number of British residents who went of to fight for the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War in the 1930's.

Were any of the British residents who fought with the International Brigades ever arrested on their return to Britain and does anyone know which law on the Statute Book applies at the current period of time that is being currently invoked. Was there a similar law on the Statute Book in the 1930's which could have been applied to those who fought for the International Brigades ?

I don't believe any British subjects were arrested in Britain for fighting in the Spanish Civil War. At the time, the Irish Free State had laws against citizens fighting in foreign armies; but again I don't believe anyone was ever convicted of fighting in Spain (and notably an Irish Brigade fought on the Nationalist side, as well as Irishmen joining the International Brigades).

I'd imagine that the current legislation being used by the Government is anti-terrorist legislation. (I'd suggest a study of the various Terrorism Acts currently in force.) For example; those people subject to control orders (or whatever they're currently called) preventing them from travelling abroad can be prosecuted for that alone. Others can be convicted of being a member of a proscribed organisation.

 

[Tim R-T-C]

No need to go back so far, there were a number of British volunteers in the Croatian wars, a fascinating documentary that is worth watching:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3343x_ywy_M

 

[DownSouth]

The exporting of mercenaries/"volunteers" from Britain has a very long history. This has always been encouraged by the hierarchy of the armed forces, primarily as a means to keep up the capability of a fighting force which could be recalled if Britain becomes officially involved in a major conflict.

 

[Johnuk123]

Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006 outlaws acts preparatory to terrorism and assisting somebody in such activities.
The maximum penalty is life.
Sections 6 and 8 of the legislation also make it illegal to train as a terrorist or to attend a training camp. these offences carry up to 10 years in prison.

Quite simply it is illegal to go from here and fight in another country or to train for such activity. It is also illegal to prepare for either.


Britain did threaten people leaving the country to join the International Brigades, by using the 1870 Foreign Enlistment Act. it warned that anyone volunteering to fight in Spain would be liable on conviction to imprisonment up to two years.

In the event nobody was actually prosecuted.

 

[Arglwydd Golau]

Recent events where Muslims resident in Britain have gone to Syria to join in the fighting there being arrested on their return takes me back to thinking of the number of British residents who went of to fight for the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War in the 1930's.

Were any of the British residents who fought with the International Brigades ever arrested on their return to Britain and does anyone know which law on the Statute Book applies at the current period of time that is being currently invoked. Was there a similar law on the Statute Book in the 1930's which could have been applied to those who fought for the International Brigades ?

I don't know the answer to your question, but do have an interest in this issue as I recently discovered, when reading through some of my late father's letters that he seriously considered going to Spain to fight for the Spanish government, I was quite surprised to find this information, but that's not relevant here.
It does though seem slightly odd to me that the British government is seeking to call those who go and fight against the Assad regime 'terrorists' when only last August the same government was seeking to participate in a military campaign against the same regime! (or have I got this wrong?)

 

[DownSouth]

Britain did threaten people leaving the country to join the International Brigades, by using the 1870 Foreign Enlistment Act. it warned that anyone volunteering to fight in Spain would be liable on conviction to imprisonment up to two years.

In the event nobody was actually prosecuted.

That would have been about preserving the manpower for the imminent general war in Europe which was known to be a certainty at least from early 1937 in Britain. Telling them not to go to an internal conflict in Spain was about trying to avoid them being killed in Germany's warm-up game, and not prosecuting them was about the fact people are likely to be a little more patriotic if they aren't political prisoners.

I expect that any involvement of Britain in this current attempt (the third attempt) to start a Ukraine Civil War is likely to be "unofficial" rather than under a British flag - unless NATO gets involved.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Britain did threaten people leaving the country to join the International Brigades, by using the 1870 Foreign Enlistment Act. it warned that anyone volunteering to fight in Spain would be liable on conviction to imprisonment up to two years. In the event nobody was actually prosecuted.

Thank you for the mention of the 1870 Foreign Enlistment Act, as this was the one that I could not bring to mind when I set up this particular thread.