I was doing some research into local Hull men who volunteered to fight against Franco in the Spanish Civil War and I came across a songbook that once belonged to one of these volunteers named Sam Walters. The songbook is entitled 'Canciones de Guerra de las Brigades Internacionales'and contains songs in English, Spanish, German,French, Polish and Italian.Sam Walters had used the songbook as an autograph book while he was in Spain and had collected about 120 signatures, some with supplementary inscriptions such as country of origin and political affiliation.The man who was the current owner of the book asked me to help him get the songbook placed in the archive of the International Brigades Memorial Trust which is housed at the Marx Memorial Library in London. I am currently doing this but I am also trying to positively identify all of the signatories and record any information about them that I can find. I am preparing to copy all my research plus scanned images of the songbook onto a disk to be lodged in the IBMT archive.

   There are about 30 of the 120 signatories about whom I am still seeking information. Deciphering their handwriting is the problem with some but with others it is a question of finding some other source of information which confirms their identity or provides some information. I have used other web based sources of information and research such as the ALBA site in the US and have been given some useful help as a result but I think I have got as
much from these as I can and if any Mudcatters are interested I would appreciate your help before I call an end to my quest.
If you would like to see if you can help then follow THIS LINK
and once on the site click on the blue PDF clicky to see images of the signatures.
The site that is kindly putting up the images for me has reproduced my original list of all 120 men, about whom I would still like to receive further information or photographs if you have any, but it is on the 30+ men who are still not satisfactorily identified that I am most anxious to get a lead. Here is a list of them

A1 Kormick Famoaizo   C.S.R                   ( Czech?)
A2 Tormanek Josep      C.S.R   K.G.E            ( Czech?)
A4 P. Marks             Albanais                         (Albanian? )
A5 Colvoseth Joseph            Polen
A7 Basilio Niliturk      P. C. Polaco      ( Polish Communist Party)
A8 Frans Nusholm Wien    KPO Vienna,             ( Austrian) Communist Party)
A9 Ruinburwz KPO Austria
A12 Jorge Guardado Cueto                                           (Guiardado? Ceuta?)
A14 Otto Damm    German
A15 Oswald Spieker   Germany



B1 Günter Frittner Germany Berlin
B3 Yakah Bertalan Czekoslovaki Kral Chlumec                         (Czechoslovakia, Chlumec Král'ovský)
B4 Nagy Foin   C S R Giroz
B9 Francisco Bustamonte Sonepej
C1Jack Hall C.P.U.S.A ( No Jack Hall on ALBA list)
C3 Basilio Gilipuk   P.C.                (Giliptek, Gilipeck)

C4 Chandor Fegin Budapest
C5 Hermann Lundert K S C Bratislava Keirmann? (Communist Party of Czechoslovakia)
C6 Nagy Foin K S E Paiovo(KSC Paisvo-same signatory as B4 Czech ?)                                       
C8 Friedt örmdrt Scliage KPP          (Polish Communist Party)
C9 Jurczyk Boleslaw K PP             ( Polish Communist Party)
C10 Skulimowski Jozep PPS -DKP Josep( German Communist Party)
C14 Antonio Castigluzii Italia       ( Vallonio ? )
C16 - - - p e - i - - - - a       Italia


E1Rafael Octaea Barcelona U.G.T    (Union General de Trabajadores)
F6 Benito Hojuer       (Benito Fige _ _ _ _ _ ?   Ernesto?)
F7- - - - - - - - - R.Pla del Besos Barcelona ( Catalunya) S S (TC) PSUC( Partit Socialista Unificat de Catalunya)

K3 Ernst Lufs Rot-Front Madrid 1937
L6 Marcos Moreno Luez Badalona (Barcelona) España

M10 Joaquin Brandao da Amoin   Portugaul

M14 David Dane      London. England. ( C.P.)         ( Daws?)


M15   Aeonng Afanasiev KPCCP(Entry in Cyrillic -Russian orBulgarian?)
N8    James P Hassett   Aberdeen West

If someone in Aberdeen could look at Aberdeen's International Brigades Memorial that would be a helpful confirmation of N8.I think it is in a library.
All contributions and creative thinking will be gratefully received and I shall credit you with any new information that goes on the disk if you let me have your name.

Regards, Geoff Lawes