| Members of the Tom Mann Centuria pose with their banner. Centuria Inglesa Antifascista (“English Antifascist Centuria”); Centuria (literally “Century”) is basically a military unit with 60 to 80 men. Disciplina Proletaria Vencerá Al Fascista (“Proletarian Discipline Will Defeat The Fascists”). Volunteers from Britain had volunteered to become involved almost immediately following the military rising, such as Nathan “Nat” Cohen (December 17, 1900 – January 11, 1977) and Simon “Sam” Masters (July 22, 1908 – July 1937), 2 clothing workers from London on a cycling holiday in Spain. With 3 other British volunteers, Richard Kisch (September 19, 1912 – June 1998), Tony Willis (circa 1910 – ????) and Richard “Dick” “Paul” Boyle (February 24, 1911 – April 8, 1942), they participated in an abortive raid on Mallorca, in which Kisch was badly injured. On their return to Barcelona, the group became the Tom Mann Centuria, under the command of Nat Cohen, named for English trade unionist and activist Tom Mann (April 15, 1856 – March 13, 1941). In Barcelona the Centuria was joined by David Marshall (March 27, 1916 – October 19, 2005) a Middlesbrough clerk and by the London sculptor Keith Scott Watson, who soon left the Centuria to work as a journalist with the Daily Express. Other members included Tom Wintringham (May 15, 1898 – August 16, 1949), 1 of the founding editors of The Left Review (and later a commander of the British Battalion), Esmond Romilly (July 10, 1918 – November 30, 1941), a nephew of Winston Churchill, and Phil Gillan (December 9, 1912 – March 28, 1993), a lorry driver from Glasgow. However, by the end of October 1936, after a period of 6 or 7 weeks in which the Centuria took part in no fighting, the volunteers were becoming bored and desperate to get involved. Thus, they welcomed the decision to group foreign volunteers together, which led to their transfer to the town of Albacete, chosen as the base of the International Brigades, and their official attachment to the mainly German Thaelmann Battalion. From left to right: Sid Avner (Summer 1915 – December 20, 1936), Sidney Avner was a Young Communist League (YCL) and Communist Party member from Upper Clapton, Hackney, London. He attended Davenant Foundation School. He was a striking figure standing well over 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall. Arrived in Spain in August or September 1936. As a member of a 10 strong British Unit in the German Thaelmann Battalion fighting for the Republican cause in Spain. He and his comrades were dug in outside Boadilla in December 1936. When the British attacked the Fascists on December 20, 8 of the 10 British International brigadiers, all Communist Party members, died. Nathan “Nat” Cohen, Born of Lithuanian emigrant parents and brought up in the Jewish community in Stepney, East London. Worked his passage and spent a decade in South America and spoke Spanish fluently. Worked in the garment trade; in Buenos Aires he was secretary of the union. Expelled from Chile in 1927, and Argentina 1932, for “Communistic activity.” Returned to London, joined Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). Secretary of Jubilee Street cell of the Stepney Branch of CPGB. Visited Russia in 1934-35. On a cycling holiday with Sam Masters and Alec Sheller (April 25, 1912 – October 1995) in France when the Spanish Civil War broke out – they crossed the border on July 31, 1936, and rode to Barcelona where they joined the Anti-fascist Militia at the Karl Marx barracks, meeting Felicia Browne (February 18. 1904 – August 23, 1936). Cohen appointed “official of the Eleventh Centuria” mid-August 1936. He was in the unsuccessful Republican invasion force to Mallorca where, during the retreat, he met his future wife Ramona Siles Garcia, of the Spanish militia. They were married in Barcelona in October 1936. Commander of the English group, Tom Mann Centuria, until they joined the International Brigade at Albecete in October 1936. Cohen and Masters stayed in Barcelona. After a further reorganization of the militias in November 1936, Cohen was designated “Political Delegate” and posted to Tardienta on the Aragon Front with Ramona. Cohen and Masters were both wounded in the Battle of Almudevar, November 20, 1936. He was hospitalized in Granen, Lleida, Barcelona and finally Benicassim – with a shattered knee from a dum-dum bullet. By March, he was in hospital in Paris and returned to London 7th April 1937. He took part in propaganda meetings. He, Ramona and their family temporarily relocated due to bombing during the Blitz, to Winter Hill, Rookery Lane, Haywards Heath, Sussex. Settled in South London in the Saint Hellier estate. He worked as a machinist and remained a Communist Party member until his death. He is buried in Rainham Jewish Cemetery, Essex. Ramona Siles García (1904 – August 8, 1967), Born in Lucainena de las Torres. In 1936, she was in Barcelona and worked in the textile industry. Integrated into a women’s militia, she participated in the failed attempt to recover the island of Mallorca in August 1936. In Mallorca, Ramona Siles met Nathan Cohen, a London anti-fascist Jew whom she married in October 1936. After their return to Barcelona, Ramona and Nathan Cohen participated in a parade that took place on La Rambla in recognition of the efforts of the troops that had been defeated in Mallorca and then left for London. Nat Cohen arrived in London on April 9, 1937, but she was stranded for several days in Paris due to passport problems. According to the Daily Worker, she arrived on April 17 and began speaking at rallies to get aid for Spain and also taught Spanish. The couple lived in south London and collaborated with the Carshalton colony where evacuated Basque children were housed. They were together until his death in London. Tom Wintringham, kneeling at the front in white. He was a machine gun instructor in August 1936. Joined the British Battalion on November 21, 1936. Commander of British Battalion at Jarama. Instructor at officer training school in Pozorrubio before re-joining the 15th International Battalion in August 1937. Married, but also had a girlfriend who became his 2nd wife, Kitty “Scwimp” Bowler (February 10, 1908 – 1966), who wrote for the Manchester Guardian in Barcelona. Left November 12, 1937. Living in Gnosall Gingereron, Stafford, Staffordshire, England in 1939. Wrote for radio and documentary film and advocated for peacekeeping forces for the United Nations until he died of a heart attack. Giorgio Tioli (???? – May 1937). There is very little information. He was born in Italy but before the outbreak of the war it is known that he lived in England. Although he appears in a photograph under the banner of the Tom Mann Centurion, there is no record that he actually joined this militia. Referring to the May 1937 Events, George Orwell (June 25, 1903 – January 21, 1950) speaks of him as an “Italian journalist, a great friend of ours, arrived with his trousers soaked in blood. He had gone out to see what was happening, and when he was bandaging a wounded man, in the middle of the street, some prankster had thrown a grenade at him and wounded him, fortunately not seriously. I remember Tioli saying that the cobblestones of the streets of Barcelona should be numbered; that would save a lot of work when it came to making and taking down barricades.” He probably died in July May in Barcelona, a victim of the feuding between anarchists and communists. In any case there is no further news about him. There are several theories that place him as a spy, and if that was the case, probably from the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSUC). William “Blue” “Jack” Barry (August 23, 1889 – December 14, 1936). From Melbourne, Australia. In Barcelona for the workers’ Olympics (19-26 July 1936), which was cancelled because of the fascist coup. Known in Spain as Jack “Blue” Barry, and Jack Sampson. Initially in the Tom Mann Centuria, from September 1936, which was later part of the Thälmann Battalion of the 12th International Brigade. Killed at Boadilla del Mont. David Marshall, Infantryman with anti-fascist militia, Tom Mann Centuria, and Thaelmann Battalion, 12th International Battalion. Wounded in the foot at Cerro de los Angeles and repatriated. He lived in Wicklow, Middlesbrough in 1939. He joined the United Kingdom Royal Army Royal Engineers in January 1940, and took part in the Normandy landings on D-Day. He also helped to liberate the Belsen Concentration Camp. After the war returned to work for the Ministry of Labor in Middlesbrough. In 1950, he became secretary of the Middlesbrough Trades Union Club. In 1961, he resigned from the Ministry of Labor and moved to London where he worked as a carpenter with the Theatre Workshop under Joan Littlewood. Marshall is also the author of The Tilting Planet (2005). | |
| Image Filename | wwii0811.jpg |
| Image Size | 2.10 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 5292 x 7108 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | September 1, 1936 |
| Location | |
| City | Barcelona |
| State or Province | Barcelona |
| Country | Spain |
| Archive | Australian National University |
| Record Number | Q47-4-02 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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