Last Scottish Survivor Of The Spanish Civil War Di

[jordan]

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Web Issue 3097 March 17 2008



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[page 1 of 0] Last Scottish survivor of the Spanish Civil War diesALISON CHIESA March 06 2008
Comment | Read Comments (10)
MORAL DUTY: Stevie Fullarton was 18 when he travelled to Spain.
He was just 18 when he travelled to Spain to fight the Fascists. Nearly 70 years on, he was still speaking about why he signed up for a war that came to signify one of the most potent episodes of idealism and moral duty in European history.

But yesterday it was announced that Stevie Fullerton, the last of a generation of Scots who rallied to the banner of Republican Spain after the 1936 fascist insurrection lead by General Franco, had died, aged 88.

Mr Fullerton, was the youngest of 500 Scots to join the International Brigades, when Spain's democratic government faced defeat.

He signed up in the spring of 1938, during his training as an apprentice engineer in Glasgow. It was seeing news footage of women running around "with terror in their eyes" that convinced him to fight in the Spanish Civil War.

In the main, those who went there wanted to stem the flow of Fascism and save the world from Nazism. Mr Fullerton was among four young men from the same tenemented street in Shettleston who went to Paris, before travelling undercover to the south of France.

There they assembled with around 50 other anti-fascists before being issued with canvas shoes to help them avoid being overheard by enemy soldiers, as they crossed the Pyrenees. With no uniforms, few supplies and little ammunition, they were smuggled to Catalonia to join the British battalion.

Speaking of his experiences in an interview with The Herald several years ago, Mr Fullerton said: "I felt strongly about the terrible things that were happening to the people of Spain. It was as simple as that. I felt if there was anything I could do, then let me do it. It was one of the world's great causes of the last century."

Recalling being bombed by a fascist plane, before arriving at the river Ebro, he said: "They flew low enough to see our faces. I got my head down and kept it there."

He was shot in the abdomen in August 1938, during the offensive on the river Ebro. He waited for darkness before crawling back to fellow brigadiers. The war finished for him at that time.

"We had no chance from the beginning. If I had known that, I'd still have gone. It was a question of morality," he added.

Around 35,000 volunteers from 53 nations stood side by side with the Spanish people in what history now records as one of the greatest moral crusades of our time. It is estimated 2400 from Britain joined the International Brigades.

Back in Britain, Mr Fullerton joined the RAF during the Second World War.

He had been settled in Edinburgh for the past 60 years, and latterly lived in care home. He died in hospital on Friday, and is survived by a daughter and two sons.

His death was announced by his son Ronnie, 54, who said: "People from all over the world joined up to the International Brigade. He was proud of his part."

Marlene Sidaway, secretary of the International Brigade Memorial Trust, said: "Stevie was a lovely man. His hearing and sight were getting very bad, but he was still able to talk very lucidly about his experiences. We'll all miss him very much."

Mr Fullarton's funeral will take place in Edinburgh tomorrow.


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Posted by: Wardog, Buckie on 12:30am Thu 6 Mar 08
What a superb story and a great man
What a superb story and a great manQuote | Report this postPosted by: Cynicus, Scotland on 12:57am Thu 6 Mar 08
Avanti o popolo, alla riscossa, Bandiera rossa trionferà.
Avanti o popolo, alla riscossa,
Bandiera rossa trionferà. Quote | Report this postPosted by: Wullie, Aberdeen on 1:35am Thu 6 Mar 08
Well it all ended happily. Franco won.
Well it all ended happily. Franco won.Quote | Report this postPosted by: joe90, Wishaw on 2:42am Thu 6 Mar 08

Well it all ended happily. Franco won.

- Franco's mass-murdering Phalangists were helped by Hitler's Nazis, Mussolini's Fascists along with French and British Appeasers and the buisness-friendly Yanks - and not forgetting Stalin, who used the Spanish Communist Party to make sure the Republic would lose. All in all, probably the biggest collection of scumbags one nation of Peoples have ever had to face. Not forgetting, that once the Spanish had got it in the neck from coward appeasers and mass-murdering Nazis and the like - we were next up for the fascist-nazi slaughterhouse of 1939! Long LIve the memory of Stevie Fullerton!
Well it all ended happily. Franco won.

- Franco's mass-murdering Phalangists were helped by Hitler's Nazis, Mussolini's Fascists along with French and British Appeasers and the buisness-friendly Yanks - and not forgetting Stalin, who used the Spanish Communist Party to make sure the Republic would lose.

All in all, probably the biggest collection of scumbags one nation of Peoples have ever had to face.

Not forgetting, that once the Spanish had got it in the neck from coward appeasers and mass-murdering Nazis and the like - we were next up for the fascist-nazi slaughterhouse of 1939!

Long LIve the memory of Stevie Fullerton!Quote | Report this postPosted by: Cambiblue, Glasgow on 8:04am Thu 6 Mar 08

[bold]Wullie[/bold] wrote: Well it all ended happily. Franco won.

Wjhy the need for snide comment This man was the forerunner of many who gave their lives for freedom between 1939 and 1945. I for one thank them all for their stand for democracy and freedom But sometimes I wonder if the sacrifice was worth it when I hear the drivel from people like you
Wullie wrote:
Well it all ended happily. Franco won.
Wjhy the need for snide comment

This man was the forerunner of many who gave their lives for freedom between 1939 and 1945.

I for one thank them all for their stand for democracy and freedom

But sometimes I wonder if the sacrifice was worth it when I hear the drivel from people like you

Quote | Report this postPosted by: Duncan B, Glasgow on 10:16am Thu 6 Mar 08
Well Wullie, it looks as if no one needed to call you a facist, you have managed to do it yourself.
Well Wullie, it looks as if no one needed to call you a facist, you have managed to do it yourself.Quote | Report this postPosted by: mellowmick, dundee on 10:39am Thu 6 Mar 08
As it states on the Dundee International Brigade Memorial; Man’s dearest possession is life and, since it is granted to live but once, he must so live as to feel no torturing regret for years without purpose, so live as not to be seared by the shame of a cowardly and trivial past, so live, that dying he can say “All my life and all my strength were given to the finest cause in the world – the fight for the liberation of mankind”. Quotation from 'How the Steel was Tempered' by Russian writer Nikolai Alexeevich Ostrovsky. At least the Herald could have spelt his bloody name correctly; It was FullArton.
As it states on the Dundee International Brigade Memorial;
Man’s dearest possession is life and, since it is granted to live but once, he must so live as to feel no torturing regret for years without purpose, so live as not to be seared by the shame of a cowardly and trivial past, so live, that dying he can say “All my life and all my strength were given to the finest cause in the world – the fight for the liberation of mankind”.
Quotation from 'How the Steel was Tempered' by Russian writer Nikolai Alexeevich Ostrovsky.

At least the Herald could have spelt his bloody name correctly; It was FullArton.
Quote | Report this postPosted by: cherry gal, embra on 11:09am Thu 6 Mar 08
yeh, you sound REALLY mellow mick, RIP Mr Fullerton - you were a true ordinary hero.
yeh, you sound REALLY mellow mick,

RIP Mr Fullerton - you were a true ordinary hero.Quote | Report this postPosted by: Bill C, Edinburgh on 11:59am Thu 6 Mar 08
RIP Mr Fullerton - you stood up to Fascism when others looked the other way. These lads were true heroes who joined the fight against Fascism in Spain while the gutless British Government decided to turn a blind eye. Meanwhile the Nazis were perfecting their blanket bombing tactics in Spain. We paid the price for that attiude from 1939 -1945. There is a monument to the Scottish Volunteers on the walkway in East Princess Street Gardens in Ediburgh near the foot of the Playfair Steps. [bold]NO PASARAN![/bold]
RIP Mr Fullerton - you stood up to Fascism when others looked the other way.

These lads were true heroes who joined the fight against Fascism in Spain while the gutless British Government decided to turn a blind eye. Meanwhile the Nazis were perfecting their blanket bombing tactics in Spain.

We paid the price for that attiude from 1939 -1945.

There is a monument to the Scottish Volunteers on the walkway in East Princess Street Gardens in Ediburgh near the foot of the Playfair Steps.

NO PASARAN! Quote | Report this postPosted by: thebadrash, Barcelona on 4:30pm Thu 6 Mar 08

[bold]Wullie[/bold] wrote: Well it all ended happily. Franco won.

What a disgraceful comment! You know that Franco killed hundreds of thousands of people? Spain was left under fascist dictatorship right into the 70s. Stevie Fullarton - and those who volunteered with him - are heroes for justice and all that is right... I wish that I had half the courage of those young men and women.
Wullie wrote:
Well it all ended happily. Franco won.
What a disgraceful comment! You know that Franco killed hundreds of thousands of people? Spain was left under fascist dictatorship right into the 70s.

Stevie Fullarton - and those who volunteered with him - are heroes for justice and all that is right... I wish that I had half the courage of those young men and women.Quote | Report this postAdd your commentPlease note: to publish your comment you must be registered on this site. If you are already registered, please enter your details below.
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[Papa C.]

"He was just 18 when he travelled to Spain to fight the Fascists. Nearly 70 years on, he was still speaking about why he signed up for a war that came to signify one of the most potent episodes of idealism and moral duty in European history."

Another fallen hero who continued to try and educate the working class through his life. RIP.

[Stallit 2 de Halfo]

Sorry to hear that. Those who volunteered are true hero's and an inspiration.

I think Ireland only has one volunteer left, or maybe none? not sure.

[Papa C.]

I think there's 3 actually. Search for the international brigades on YouTube. You should find them.

[jordan]

There was a volunteer from my home town of Irvine who as killed in action,John Smith was his name thats all i know, the local library had a plaque on the wall to commemorate him but the library has moved into the town center and i don't know if they put it back up but i will ind out today.

[dangeresque]

RIP

As far as I knew, there was only one Irish Vol left.