Dr Doug Jolly pioneered mobile emergency surgery during the Spanish Civil War. He is described by US medical historian David Adamas as ‘one of the most notable war surgeons of the 20th century’.
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René Shadbolt led the only New Zealand contingent to the Spanish Civil War. She and fellow nurse, Isobel Dodds, cared for wounded soldiers, particularly those from the International Brigades, from July 1937 to November 1938.
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Most of the handful of New Zealanders who served in the Spanish Civil War made their own way to Spain from Britain and Australia. The only organised New Zealand contingent comprised three nurses: René Shadbolt, Isobel Dodds and Millicent Sharples.
This web feature was written to coincide with the publication of Kiwi Compañeros: New Zealand and the Spanish Civil War, edited by Mark Derby and published by Canterbury University Press in 2009. Further information on the book can be found here.
The deaths of at least six New Zealanders in Spain went largely unnoticed at home. But some groups within New Zealand saw Spain as more than a ‘far away side issue’.
