Samuel George Montague Nathan (20 January 1895 – 16 July 1937) was an English soldier who served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...

Auxiliary Division The Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary (ADRIC), generally known as the Auxiliaries or Auxies, was a paramilitary unit of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) during the Irish War of Independence. It was founded in July 1920 by Major ...

during the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

and the

International Brigades The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existed ...

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 Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

. During his service in the Auxiliary Division, Nathan was suspected of being involved in the assassination of two

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gr ...

politicians, which later contributed to the alienation of Irish volunteers in the International Brigades from their British counterparts during the Spanish Civil War. In the Spanish Civil War, Nathan initially commanded the British company of the majority-French

Marseillaise Battalion image:Perelachaise-BrigadesInternationales-p1000377.jpg, 300px, A memorial commemorating the International Brigades The XIV International Brigade was one of several International Brigades, international brigades that fought for the Spanish Second ...

but was appointed battalion commander in early 1937 following the execution of his predecessor for espionage. Nathan later became Chief of Staff of the

XV International Brigade The Abraham Lincoln Brigade ( es, Brigada Abraham Lincoln), officially the XV International Brigade (''XV Brigada Internacional''), was a mixed brigade that fought for the Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War as a part of the Internation ...

and was killed in action on 16 July 1937 at the Battle of Brunete. Even though he had been turned down in his attempt to join the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...

either because of his "sexual orientation" or because of his unwillingness to "pretend great political enthusiasm" - Comintern observers admired him for his "cool arrogance under fire".Eby (2007), p 202

Background

Samuel George Montague Nathan was born in

Hackney, London Hackney is a district in East London, England, forming around two-thirds of the area of the modern London Borough of Hackney, to which it gives its name. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross and includes part of the Quee ...

in 1895. His father was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

and the Nathans had been settled in England since the 18th century. His mother was an Englishwoman and was a Christian. George Nathan himself was baptised into the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

at St Mark's,

Bow Street Bow Street is a thoroughfare in Covent Garden, Westminster, London. It connects Long Acre, Russell Street and Wellington Street, and is part of a route from St Giles to Waterloo Bridge. The street was developed in 1633 by Francis Russell, 4 ...

on 24 January 1897. Although nominally raised an Anglican and identifying himself as such earlier in life, after 1917 he referred to himself as Jewish.

Military

World War I

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he fought in the

on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

.''Gurney'' (1974), pp 93–95 He rose from private to company sergeant major and "after three years and 334 days in the service, he was commissioned in the field on 9 April 1917"Monks (1985) to become "the only Jewish officer in the Brigade of Guards". This is what he claimed but Nathan was, as his medal index card shows, commissioned into the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and was never a CSM.

Irish War of Independence

In 1920, Nathan was discharged from the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. On October of that year, Nathan joined the

of the

(RIC) and was posted to G Company as a Section Leader, being stationed at the Lakeside Hotel in

Killaloe, County Clare Killaloe ( ; ) is a large village in east County Clare, Ireland. The village lies on the River Shannon on the western bank of Lough Derg and is connected by Killaloe Bridge to the "twin town" of Ballina on the eastern bank of the lake. The ...

. The Auxiliary Division was a paramilitary unit of the RIC and fought in the

against the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...

, working heavily in conjunction with paramilitary RIC constables known as the

Black and Tans Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have ...

. Nathan was ordered to return to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

on 30 April 1921 and left the Auxiliary Division on 2 May 1921, returning to London.George Montague Nathan
Auxiliaries.com, 11 November 2016 During his service in the Auxiliary Division, Nathan was suspected of being involved with a series of assassinations in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

which took place on 7 March 1921, when the sitting

mayor of Limerick The office of Mayor of the City and County of Limerick is currently the title used by the chairperson of Limerick City and County Council. Prior to the establishment of the council, the Mayor of Limerick was the chairperson of Limerick City Counc ...

politician George Clancy, councillor and former mayor Michael O'Callaghan and city clerk Joseph O'Donoghue were all shot and killed in their homes. Groups of plainclothes men had knocked on the door of each, claiming to be a search party and once inside struggled with each party, shooting them. George Clancy's wife Máire, who had struggled with the party before they shot her husband, identified George Nathan in a statement. An article published in the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'' by Richard Bennett in 1961 stated that two former Auxiliary Division members had anonymously identified Nathan as the killer of the two mayors. Local rumours in Limerick claimed that Leslie Ibbotson was the other man involved, but this has never been proven. Frank Percy Crozier, a former Auxiliary Division officer, wrote in his book Ireland for Ever that he agreed with Kathleen O'Callaghan (wife of one of the men killed, Michael O'Callaghan) that the mayors were "murdered by police, acting under orders, as part of a plan to 'do away with' Sinn Fein leaders, and put the blame on Sinn Fein".Shooting in Limerick
Auxiliaries.com, 11 November 2016

Spanish Civil War

After returning from Dublin, Nathan relinquished his commission and rejoined the British Army; this time the

West Yorkshire Regiment ) , march = ''Ça Ira'' , battles = Namur FontenoyFalkirk Culloden Brandywine , anniversaries = Imphal (22 June) The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) wa ...

as a private, but had left the military by October 1922 at his own request. Having spent his entire adulthood in the military, Nathan was ill-prepared for civilian life. He worked a number of jobs, such as being a doorman for Peter Jones, but was fired after trying to form a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

. He also worked as a butcher. He briefly rejoined the Army as a private in the

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars ...

but was discharged with ignominy after a

Court Martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

on 25 May 1926.Bennett (1961), pp 471-472 He traveled to

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. Th ...

in February 1928, intending to become a farmer, but only found work as a salesman, staying in

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 to ...

for some years. His financial state was poor and he wrote to the

British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ne ...

in 1935, requesting assistance. The

began in the summer of 1936 in the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 ...

, as a Nationalist insurgency was launched by elements of the

Spanish Republican Armed Forces The Spanish Republican Armed Forces ( es, Fuerzas Armadas de la República Española) were initially formed by the following two branches of the military of the Second Spanish Republic: *Spanish Republican Army (''Ejército de la República Espa ...

. In September 1936, the

Communist International The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by ...

under the control of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...

decided to found the

to assist the sitting

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

government (ranging from the bourgeois liberals of the Republican Union to the Marxist-Leninists of the

Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain ( es, Partido Comunista de España; PCE) is a Marxist-Leninist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is part of Unidas Podemos. It currently has two of its politicians serving a ...

) of the Second Spanish Republic. Nathan elected to travel to Spain in December 1936, where he joined the mostly French

of the

XIV International Brigade 300px, A memorial commemorating the International Brigades The XIV International Brigade was one of several international brigades that fought for the Spanish Second Republic during the Spanish Civil War. History and structure It was raised on 2 ...

, as a Captain of the British Company with it. Nathan's first action in the conflict was at the

Battle of Lopera The Battle of Lopera took place between 27 and 29 December 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. This battle took place during the Nationalist's Aceituna offensive. On 27 December, the XIV International Brigade launched an attack in order to occupy ...

. This was a disaster for the International Brigade, in their attempt to take the town of Lopera, they were decimated by local Andalusian '' requetés'' and the Moroccan ''

regulares The Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas (" Indigenous Regular Forces"), known simply as the Regulares (Regulars), are volunteer infantry units of the Spanish Army, largely recruited in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Consisting of indigenous infantr ...

''. 78 of the 145 "British" (which also included Irish) Company died including

John Cornford Rupert John Cornford (27 December 1915 – 28 December 1936) was an English poet and communist. During the first year of the Spanish Civil War, he was a member of the POUM militia and later the International Brigades. He died while fighting ag ...

and

Ralph Winston Fox Ralph Winston Fox (30 March 1900 – 28 December 1936) was a British revolutionary, journalist, novelist, and historian, best remembered as a biographer of Lenin and Genghis Khan. Fox was one of the best-known members of the Communist Party o ...

. Comintern were embarrassed by this and so

André Marty André Marty (6 November 1886 – 23 November 1956) was a leading figure in the French Communist Party (PCF) for nearly thirty years. He was also a member of the National Assembly, with some interruptions, from 1924 to 1955; Secretary of Comintern ...

, the political commissar, had Marseillaise Battalion commander Gaston Delasalle executed for "incompetence, cowardice" and being a "fascist spy" (on the recommendation of André Heussler.) That day Nathan had organised a retreat under fire, which saved even more of his men from being killed.Irish volunteers in the British Battalion
RichardBaxell.info, 11 November 2016 In January 1937, the

British Battalion The British Battalion (1936–1938; officially the Saklatvala Battalion) was the 16th battalion of the XV International Brigade, one of the mixed brigades of the International Brigades, during the Spanish Civil War. It comprised British and ...

of the

was founded, training at Madrigueras. However, problems emerged when some Irish members were unhappy about being referred to as part of a "British Battalion" (the Communist name of the Saklatvala Battalion had not caught on and the Spanish referred to them even more offensively as "''el batallón inglés''"). Irish volunteers from the

Republican Congress The Republican Congress ( ga, An Chomhdháil Phoblachtach) was an Irish republican and Marxist-Leninist political organisation founded in 1934, when pro-communist republicans left the Anti-Treaty Irish Republican Army. The Congress was led by ...

also found out that they were subordinated to two former members of the Auxiliary Division from the

Anglo-Irish War The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mi ...

; Nathan and Wilfred Macartney.W F R Macartney
TheAuxiliaries.com, 11 November 2016 The tension was such that Nathan said to Frank Ryan and the Irish that he had indeed served the Auxiliaries in

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Ireland, Province , subd ...

, but that as a Jew he was a genuine

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers wer ...

and that "we are Socialists together now". Joe Monks claims that, "the meeting responded to the spirit of his speech and clapped him". Nevertheless, later that month the Irish volunteers voted 26 for and 11 against the motion to instead join the American

Lincoln Battalion The Lincoln Battalion ( es, Batallón Abraham Lincoln) was the 17th (later the 58th) battalion of the XV International Brigade, a mixed brigade of the International Brigades also known as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. It was organized by the C ...

as the Connolly Column. Nathan's purported

homosexuality Homosexuality is Romance (love), romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romant ...

did not go down well with the Communist International representatives (being then defined in official Marxist–Leninist terminology as a "fascist perversion") and though he professed a vague allegiance to

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes th ...

, he was not a hardcore Marxist–Leninist and had not been a member of the

before arriving in Spain. However, he proved to be generally popular among the rank and file of the International Brigades, according to the likes of Jason Gurney and

Fred Copeman Frederick Bayes Copeman OBE (1907–1983) was an English volunteer in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War, commanding the British Battalion. He is also notable for contributing to London's air raid defences during the Second W ...

. Aside from this, as a man with proven military experience, he was an asset at a time when the British volunteers consisted mostly of people with little prior training. According to Copeman, Nathan performed well during the

Battle of Jarama The Battle of Jarama (6–27 February 1937) was an attempt by General Francisco Franco's Nationalists to dislodge the Republican lines along the river Jarama, just east of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War. Elite Spanish Legionnaires and ...

in February, one of the most heated contests of the Spanish Civil War. Particularly on the third day, he is claimed to have been the most capable officer of the XV International Brigade. During this battle, the Brigade lost more than half of their men; 375 out of 600 died; including Christopher Caudwell. Nathan finally came unstuck at the

Battle of Brunete The Battle of Brunete (6–25 July 1937), fought west of Madrid, was a Republican attempt to alleviate the pressure exerted by the Nationalists on the capital and on the north during the Spanish Civil War. Although initially successful, the R ...

where he was killed as a result of bomb fragments from a

Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...

aerial bombardment and died on the 17 July 1937. Romantic myth claims he was "buried under olive trees close to the River Guadarrama," but he was actually buried in the village cemetery of Torrelodones, which was along the way on an evacuation route for the combat wounded and dead from Brunete to Madrid.

Quotes

Sources

* Beevor, Antony. ''The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939''. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2006. * Bennett, Richard, "Portrait of a Killer", ''

'', 24 March 1961, pp 471–472 * Cook, Judith. ''Apprentices of Freedom''. Quartet Books, 1979. * Eby, Cecil. ''Comrades and Commissars'', Pennsylvania State University Press, 2007. * Gurney, Jason. ''Crusade in Spain'', 1974. * Copeman, Fred. ''Reason in Revolt'', 1948. Blandford Press * McGarry, Fearghal. ''Irish Politics and the Spanish Civil War'', 1999, Cork University Press. * Monks, Joe. ''With the Reds in Andalusia'', 1985, John Cornford Poetry Group. * Szurek, Alek. ''The Shattered Dream'', 1989. Columbia University Press. * Thomas, Hugh. ''The Spanish Civil War'', 1961. 1st ed. * Thomas, Hugh. ''The Spanish Civil War'', 2003. 4th Rev. Ed

References

External links

George Samuel Montague Nathan
at TheAuxiliaries.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Nathan, George 1895 births 1937 deaths Army Cyclist Corps soldiers British Army personnel of World War I British people of the Spanish Civil War British military personnel killed in action Deaths by airstrike English communists English Jews Jewish socialists Police misconduct during the Irish War of Independence Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers officers West Yorkshire Regiment soldiers Military personnel from London Irish Anti-Francoists International Brigades personnel killed in action