Background

Bill Alexander was born on June 13, 1910, in Ringwood, Hampshire, United Kingdom.

Education

Alexander studied at the University of Reading. In 1940, he attended Sandhurst Military Academy (present-day Royal Military Academy Sandhurst).

Career

In 1937, Bill joined the British Battalion of the International Brigades to aid the Republic in the Spanish Civil War. A bit later, he joined an anti-tank battery, soon becoming its political commissar and received a citation for bravery at Belchite. After fighting in the Battle of Teruel, Bill was appointed a captain and commander of the whole British force. However, he was soon wounded and then sent back to the United Kingdom in June of 1938.

Upon his return to the United Kingdom, Alexander continued to campaign for the Spanish republic and was involved in numerous demonstrations outside the Spanish embassy. He also became Merseyside area secretary of the Communist Party, where he remained until the outbreak of the second world war.

In 1940, Bill was recommended by the "red" Duchess of Atholl for a commission at the Sandhurst Military Academy (present-day Royal Military Academy Sandhurst), from which he graduated as the top cadet. Then, Bill served in North Africa, Italy, and Germany, rising to the rank of captain in the reconnaissance corps.

After the war, Bill resumed his political activities in Britain, and, in addition to becoming a Coventry secretary of the Communist Party, stood unsuccessfully against Richard Crossman at Coventry East in the 1945 general election. Between 1947 and 1953, he acted as a Midlands Area Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain, and, following a six-year period as a Secretary of the Welsh District, became an Assistant General Secretary of the party in 1959, a position he held until 1967, when he left political field and became a Chemistry teacher at Sydenham School. Bill remained at the school for nearly sixteen years. During the period from 1989 and 1996, Alexander held a position of a president of the Marx Memorial Library in London.

Also, for many years, Bill was tireless in his efforts for the International Brigade Association, which he ruled with a rod of iron. He represented the organization at numerous events and led a group of surviving volunteers and their families on an emotional journey to Spain in 1986 to revisit the sites of the British volunteers' exploits.

In addition, during his career, Bill Alexander also wrote articles and letters, challenging what he felt to be the mythology of the Spanish civil war.

Achievements

• Bill Alexander gained prominence as a politician, anti-fascist activist, member and organizer of the British Communist Party, as well as commander of the British Battalion, that fought for the republican government against General Franco's fascists in the Spanish civil war.

Works

More photos

• book

  • British Volunteers for Liberty: Spain, 1936-1939 1982
  • Inside the Myth: Orwell Views from the Left 1984

Politics

Bill Alexander organized the British Communist Party. He was also instrumental in establishing the Brigade to fight Franco’s regime during the Spanish Civil War.

During the 1990's, Bill spoke in favour of environmental causes.

Views

Bill was always strongly critical of the perception of the Spanish war as "the poets' war".

Connections

Bill Alexander was married to Lena Alexander. Their marriage produced a son and daughter.

Wife:

Lena Alexander