Bob Cooney memoir now in print

The IBMT is proud to support the publication of the Spanish Civil War memoir of Bob Cooney (1907-1984), who served in Spain from October 1937 to December 1938 and was the British Battalion’s political commissar during the Battle of the Ebro in the summer of 1938.

Bob Cooney was a prominent anti-fascist and communist in Aberdeen who joined the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39. Published now for the first time, “Proud Journey” is his memoir of those turbulent times. It takes us from street clashes with Blackshirts to the battlefields of Spain and the heroism and sacrifice of Cooney and his comrades facing the forces of Franco, Hitler and Mussolini. 

Written in 1944 and with the Second World War as a backdrop, this is a rousing personal account of one man’s part in the long and bloody fight against fascism that helped define this key period of twentieth century history. Cooney paints an action-packed and politically-charged picture of struggle, solidarity, comradeship – and hope.

‘Proud Journey: a Spanish Civil War memoir’ (paperback, 123 pages) is published by the Marx Memorial Library in association with Manifesto Press and with help from the IBMT and Unite the Union. It is available from the IBMT for £8 (£5 plus £3 p&p). Send cheques to: IBMT, 37a Clerkenwell Green, London EC1R 0DU.