In 1936, 36 year old George Palmer, a First World War veteran who had endured gas attacks and trench foot, said goodbye to his mother, Eunice O’Brien, who lived at 49 Enham, Hampshire.

As Test Valley’s sole volunteer for the Spanish Civil War, George defied a legal ban that would later see many prosecuted and embarked on a daunting journey: crossing the English Channel, evading French police, and trekking over the Pyrenees into Spain.

He enlisted in the International Brigades, 35,000 volunteers from more than 50 countries, and served in No. 1 Company, the Major Attlee Company.

On 12 January 1937, near Madrid, George was killed at Las Rozas, reportedly “blown to pieces.” His comrade, Phil Harker, described how he “died an anti-fascist soldier who had won a name for himself.”

          It was not fraud or foolishness,
          Glory, revenge, or pay:
          We came because our open eyes
          Could see no other way.              – Cecil Day Lewis

I stood in Enham, knocking on doors, chatting with locals, even stopping at the post office yet no one remembered George or his mother. Their story remains quietly forgotten.

This work is my tribute to George Palmer, and to all those who recognise fascism’s urgent threat and choose to act.