The first interview is with Charlie Woods, a Tyneside labour activist and trade unionist who supported the men from the region who volunteered to fight in Spain as part of the International Brigades. His reflections speak to the organisational networks, political convictions and community solidarity that shaped regional support for the Republican cause.

The second interview features John Henderson and Frank Graham, both of whom fought in Spain. Henderson, from Gateshead, served in the British Battalion and was wounded in action. Frank Graham, also a veteran of the conflict, went on to become a publisher and founder of Frank Graham Publishing, noted for making North East history and literature accessible to wide audiences. He championed figures such as the writer Jack Common and was an influential figure in the region’s cultural life.

These interviews preserve a valuable oral history, capturing the convictions of those who took action in one of the twentieth century’s defining international struggles.