Thread by @sean_f_scullion

What do the SOE, Kim Philby, Peter Kemp, Ian Fleming and Hollywood actor Alfred Molina have in common? No1 Spanish Coy of the Pioneer Corps of course! A thread over a few days giving insights into some of the Spaniards that fought in the British Army in WW2... #ContinuingtheFight

The Coy was formed this very month 80 years ago at No. 3 Pioneer Corps Training Centre at Westward Ho. The Coy performed splendid service in Britain from its formation in 1940 and during the Western European Campaign from Aug 1944 until the end of the war..... #ContinuingtheFight

The Coy came from a range of backgrounds but all had served in the Spanish Civil War and via various means ended up in England in the summer of 1940. The largest part had served in the 2e Bat of the 13e DB of the French Foreign Legion returning from Narvik...#ContinuingtheFight

Others joined the Coy who supported the French/British in France during May/Jun 1940. Cpl Franciso Balaque, returned to France with the FFL from Narvik & escaped to England "We had arrived in Brest in the afternoon and were on our way the following day."...#ContinuingtheFight

"...we were taken to Trentham Park...a..French officer was coming to inspect us. The chance had come at last to show our contempt for the way we had been treated as refugees (by the French) and abandoned to the Germans when....given the order to surrender."#ContinuingtheFight

"The word was passed around that when the time came we would parade and on the command to present arms we would throw down our weapons and sit down." According to Balaque, some 400 were then arrested and sent to Stafford Prison......#ContinuingtheFight

"Within the next day or two several British Army officers who spoke perfect Spanish.....came to find out more. In no time at all the cells were opened....our chance to join the British Army had arrived. We were taken to Westward-Ho!, Bideford in North Devon."#ContinuingtheFight

How the SOE then got their teeth into No1 Spanish Coy is something I will cover tomorrow....Many thanks to the Royal Pioneer Corps Association for the photos. #ContinuingtheFight

Continuing the thread on the No1 Spanish Coy and the Spaniards who fought in the British in WW2, were involved with the SOE’s planned operations in Spain…..#ContinuingtheFight

As the Battle of Britain raged, there were still concerns that Germany would invade Iberia and take Gibraltar (FELIX). H Section of SOE (H=Iberia), headed by Hugh Quennell, hatched a plan and by Dec 1940 was selecting, training, briefing and sending agents...#ContinuingtheFight

On 2 Dec, Quennell visited the No1 Spanish Coy in Plymouth to recruit the first batch of Spaniards. Given the code name SCONCES, the first batch of 32 started their training at Brickendonbury Manor, requisitioned at the start of WW2 to become SOE Station 17. #ContinuingtheFight

This course was devised by Guy Burgess, a Sect D officer who studied at Cambridge with Kim Philby. By this stage, Op RELATOR had also been established to recruit and train 40 Spanish-speaking British officers to be infiltrated as organisers of the resistance v German invasion...

The first SCONCE course ended just before Christmas 1940. A report (probably written by Philby) said it "ended on a very successful note indeed...an atmosphere of confidence was established". Soon after they were in Inverailort House for 3 weeks. David Niven also trained here.

Two further SCONCE groups followed the same path and soon after parachute training was arranged at RAF Ringway near Manchester. Before this though they were sent to do some further training at Beaulieu in Hampshire. #ContinuingtheFight

Contiuing the giving insights into some of the Spaniards that fought in the British Army in WW2...What do the SOE, Kim Philby, Peter Kemp, Ian Fleming and Hollywood actor Alfred Molina have in common? No1 Spanish Coy of the Pioneer Corps of course! #ContinuingtheFight

@tomvvardle
@AMolinaFemIcon
@RichardBaxell
@SpainMemoryWars
@GuillermoTaber1
@SOEhistory
@JWebsterwriter
@RecordofArms
@Civil_War_Spain
@DanHillHistory
@CasanovaHistory
@CatherineH0505
@wwiistories
@StevensBalagan
@GuerraCivil1936
@civil_spanish
#ContinuingtheFight

@tomvvardle @AMolinaFemIcon @RichardBaxell @SpainMemoryWars @GuillermoTaber1 @SOEhistory @JWebsterwriter @RecordofArms @Civil_War_Spain @DanHillHistory @CasanovaHistory @CatherineH0505 @wwiistories @StevensBalagan @GuerraCivil1936 @civil_spanish By the spring of 1941 over 20 SCONCES had received parachute training and a fourth group had undergone SOE training. Amongst those parachute trained was Cpl Antonio Grande who wrote about his time in No1 Spanish Coy....#ContinuingtheFight

Apart from Philby, another "interesting" character linked to the SCONCES was Peter Kemp. A staunch conservative and monarchist, in Nov 1936 he broke off from reading for the bar, travelled to Spain and joined Franco's army, serving in the Carlist Requetés and the Spanish Legion.

He told of his experiences in "Mine were of Trouble". By 1940, Kemp was in the SOE and a RELATOR, inserted into N Spain and put on standby to lead a group of SCONCES if activated. Luckily, it was decided to be a bad idea! He then worked with Tito's partisans. #ContinuingtheFight

Spaniards were still needed to be trained by SOE. A 4th group started in the spring of 1941. One was Esteban Molina and had joined the Coy and then SOE training. In "Los españoles de Churchill", Daniel Arasa was able to interview many and Molina was one. #ContinuingtheFight

Molina went through all training as well as parachute training. When the SCONCE plan was put on hold, he was one of a small group that did further training and as well as wireless operator training and was parachuted in prior to D-Day to work with the Resistance. @AMolinaFemIcon

@AMolinaFemIcon According to Molina "I was in France twice and I was a wireless operator. I sent and received messages, but as they were in code I was never aware of the information that passed through my hands..."#ContinuingtheFight

SOE trained a total of 140 Spaniards over a two year period. By the middle of 1943 it was clear that the SCONCES would not be needed. No 1 Spanish Coy continued training and disembarked in Normandy in 14 Aug 1944 staying in Europe until Sep1945. The unit was disbanded in 1946.

I hope you enjoyed this thread.....More to follow soon on Spaniards who fought in the British Army in WW2 as the anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem draws near.....#ContinuingtheFight