Alexander Wheeler Wainman (1913-1989) was a British photographer,

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

, and Slavonic Scholar at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

. He is most known for his work as a frontline medical volunteer for the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

government and anti-fascist forces during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, and for the large collection of photographs he took during the war, which was published posthumously.

Early life and work

Alec Wainman was born on 11 March 1913 at

Otterington Hall Otterington Hall is a Grade II listed mansion in South Otterington, near Northallerton, North Yorkshire, England. Otterington Hall lies in South Otterington, three miles south of Northallerton, on the A167. One of the earlier occupants, from ...

, North Yorkshire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. His father was a captain in the 2nd Battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment and was killed in Loos during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Wainman was raised by his mother in

Vernon, British Columbia Vernon is a city in the Okanagan region of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is northeast of Vancouver. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former MLA of British Columbia who helped establish the Coldstream Ranch in nearby ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, with his three brothers. In 1928, Wainman returned to Britain and studied both Russian and Italian at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. By 1933, his mother had returned to England, where she lived in

Shipton-under-Wychwood Shipton-under-Wychwood is an English village and civil parish in the Evenlode valley about north of Burford, Oxfordshire. The village is one of three named after the ancient forest of Wychwood. The others are Milton-under-Wychwood immediately ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, an address which Wainman listed as his home during the 1930s. During the years 1934–1935, Wainman spent time living in the Soviet Union while working for the British Embassy in Moscow. Although Wainman was not a member of any political parties, he was deeply sympathetic to communist causes, and was a member of the

International Association of Friends of the Soviet Union The International Association of Friends of the Soviet Union was an organization formed on the initiative of the Communist International in 1927, with the purpose of coordinating solidarity efforts with the Soviet Union around the world. It grew out ...

Experiences during the Spanish Civil War

Wainman volunteered for the Spanish Medical Aid Committee (SMAC) soon after it was founded, and was one of six ambulance drivers which left London for Spain on 23 August 1936 as part of the British Medical Aid Unit. Accompanied by life-long Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) activist

Thora Silverthorne Thora Silverthorne (1910–1999), also known as "Red Silverthorne", was a British Communist, healthcare activist, and a nanny for Somerville Hastings, and former president of the Socialist Medical Association (SMA). She is most known for her s ...

, Wainman helped to establish the first British hospital in Spain during the

. During his time in Spain, Wainman started using his talents as a photographer for media work and began offering his services as a photographer for the Spanish Republican government, and later the

Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia The Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia ( ca, Partit Socialista Unificat de Catalunya, PSUC) was a communist political party active in Catalonia between 1936 and 1997. It was the Catalan branch of the Communist Party of Spain and the only party n ...

. During his time in Spain, Wainman indulged his passion for photography by capturing behind-the-scenes photos of Republican everyday life. Suffering from hepatitis, he returned to Britain in 1938.

Later life

After returning to Britain, Wainman used his connections to free Spanish republicans held within a French concentration camp in Le Barcarès and bring them to Britain. He then found employment and accommodation for these former prisoners and lived together with his mother and the many Spanish refugee children which the Wainman family cared for. Having travelled in Europe extensively, Wainman spoke at least seven European languages including English, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, German, Russian, and Italian. During World War II, Wainman was a member of the

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

. Wainman returned to civilian life as a lecturer, then as a professor, on Slavic studies at the

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. He died in 1989.

Wainman’s collection of photos

In 1975, a London-based publishing house got Wainman's photos with a view to publishing them but the publisher went into liquidation and Wainman's collection was believed to be lost. In 2013 his son John Alexander Wainman, known by the pseudonym 'Serge Alternês', salvaged his father's photo collection and published a selection, along with his memoir, in the book ''Live Souls''.

Exhibitions

Museum of the History of Catalonia The Museum of the History of Catalonia ( ca, Museu d'Història de Catalunya, MHC) is a history museum in Barcelona that promotes the awareness and knowledge of the history of Catalonia and its culture. The museum is located in Barcelona's Palau d ...

2019-2020: Beyond the trenches (1936-1939). Shows more than 150 photographs of Wainman from the Spanish Civil War.

Film

Film ''Without you I would not exist''. Wainman's collection was also used in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...