We are an international, non-commercial, special interest group that wish to share information about the blockade runners, seafarers and transport workers (and their organisations) who supported the Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939. People with interest in maritime and social history are invited to join us.

The group takes an international perspective on this topic.

For many people the Spanish Civil War is an almost forgotten war isolated in time and space, where some people went to Spain to fight in an unknown war.

But we strongly want to emphasise that the Spanish Civil War was not an isolated event in time and place and that it must be seen in a much larger context.

The people who supported the Spanish Republic were part of a large international social-political movement that fought for democratic rights, equality and social progress.

The heroic efforts of the seafarers, transport workers and blockade runners, who opposed fascism, deserve to be remembered today. The early decades of last century saw the rise of modern fascism, a toxic creed that remains alive in the 21st century – though it tries to hide its true nature. Fascist-inspired beliefs still have the power to divide workers, provoke racial and ethnic conflict, destroy trade unions, trample on human rights – and cause wars.

Workers around the world must always be vigilant in the face of such challenges. In doing so, we can draw inspiration from that generation of brave transport trade unionists who, against all odds and often sacrificing their lives, were the first anti-fascists to say, as their slogan in Spain declared: ‘They shall not pass!’ – ‘¡No pasarán!’