William Ball

William Ball was born in Reading in 1915. His father, Henry Ball, ran a chemist shop in Oxford Road. Ball went to Reading School where they became friends with John Boulting and Josh Francis. According to the authors of We Cannot Park on Both Sides (2000): "Bill Ball, John Boulting and Josh Francis had been members of the Officer Training Corps (OFC) at Reading School, which provided boys with basic military training and familiarity with weapons. Ball, a Corporal in the OTC was also a member of the School's rifle shooting team."

Ball, who lived with his parents in Clifton Park Road, Caversham, was a member of the Reading Branch of the Young Communist League, that included Thora Silverthorne and Reginald Saxton. He was also close to Josh Francis, John Boulting, Roy Poole and Rosamund Powell, who were all members of the Labour Party League of Youth. Ball was also an active member of the Friends of the Soviet Union.

On the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War Ball became very involved in the campaign to support the Popular Front government against the Nationalists led by General Francisco Franco. He eventually decided to join the International Brigades. According to his friend Jimmy Moon, Ball's father "was a left-winger, but he was furious" with his son's decision as he thought it would "ruin your career". However, later he boasted: "I've got a boy in Spain".

Ball left for Spain at the beginning of January 1937 with Cyril Sexton. "The first days of January 1937 saw a group on their way from Victoria Station, a small part of this group were Ball, Bibby, Johnson (with ski boots), Hart and myself. We kept more or less together to Paris. That night in the hotel we were allocated a room with two double beds, Ball and Bibby shared one, and Hart and myself the other. In those days I was completely non-political and that night Ball taught me the tune and words of the international. We shared a taxi to the Gare Austerlitz, where we met up with the others, and then shared a railway carriage to Perpignan, then the coach to Figueras. Our group stayed together even to the billets in the old cinema in Madrigueras."

Whereas his friends, John Boulting, Roy Poole, Rosamund Powell, Thora Silverthorne and Reginald Saxton joined the British Medical Aid Unit, Ball, like Josh Francis, joined the British Battalion and became a member of the machine-gun in No.2 Company, where he served under Harry Fry.

Ball's first military action took place at Jarama on 12th February 1937. One of his comrades, Cyril Sexton, later recalled what happened: "The 12th of February 1937 found us struggling up the side of a hill whilst the riflemen of l, 3 and 4 Companies went ahead. Eventually our No.2 Company were in a position in advance to the "sunken road" overlooking the conical and rounded hill, and further on the Jarama Valley. Our Maxim, the crew of which still had Ball, Bibby, Hart and myself, were ordered to dig and mount our Maxim on the left flank behind the "sunken road". This gave us a good field of fire to the left flank, down the "sunken road" and also to the hills where 1, 3 and 4 Companies were fighting."

Ball worked very closely with Jock Cunningham, the commander of the British Battalion, during the battle at Jarama. On 14th February 1937 Ball was killed. His death was described by fellow soldier, Tommy James: "Tank shells began to fall all around us. At this moment Jock Cunningham... came up accompanied by Comrade Ball... They paused whilst jock scanned the Fascist positions through his field glasses. Suddenly, a shell burst right beside them... The explosion tore the leg off Comrade Ball... for a few minutes Ball lay, blood pouring from his ghastly wound and reddening the soil, but he died as he was carried away. I will never forget the look of rage and hatred upon Jock's face as he kicked loose soil over the blood soaked soil. Ball was his greatest friend."

Thora Silverthorne wrote to her family on 9th March, 1937: "Did you know that Comrade Ball of Reading (son of the chemist Dad was friendly with) was killed on this front! He'd behaved very well: the commandant praised him highly. Said he was due for promotion for his splendid behaviour. Please give my very sincere sympathy to Comrade Ball's father; tell him his son died with many other fine fellows but not in vain."

In the 1938 May Day pageant held in Reading large photographs of William Ball and Josh Francis were carried under the slogan "Reading's heroes in Spain."

Primary Sources

(1) Cyril Sexton, quoted in We Cannot Park on Both Sides (2000)

The first days of January 1937 saw a group on their way from Victoria Station, a small part of this group were Ball, Bibby, Johnson (with ski boots), Hart and myself. We kept more or less together to Paris. That night in the hotel we were allocated a room with two double beds, Ball and Bibby shared one, and Hart and myself the other. In those days I was completely non-political and that night Ball taught me the tune and words of the international. We shared a taxi to the Gare Austerlitz, where we met up with the others, and then shared a railway carriage to Perpignan, then the coach to Figueras. Our group stayed together even to the billets in the old cinema in Madrigueras.

(2) Cyril Sexton, quoted in We Cannot Park on Both Sides (2000)

I went over to see my commanding officer, Fry, and asked if there were any further orders for us. "Stay where you are" were my last orders from him. I returned and Tom Winteringham (the Battalion Commander) asked about the left flank. I told him that our gun had it covered and that a cavalry patrol had passed that way earlier in the morning. I asked Winteringham if a couple of shells couldn't be put through the roof of the white house on the rounded hill (Suicide Hill). Later in the day we heard that our company had been captured.

Our little group were still together, and when night fell on the second night, the Battalion had shrunk to a very few. I don't remember seeing any of our officers and it was a night of alarms and flares dropping into the road...

I saw Jock Cunningham on the 14th February and one of his orders was to move our gun to a position on the right flank to cover the gap where the Franco-Belge had been. Cunningham also asked for volunteers to recover a tripod that had been left out on no man's land. Ball and myself were two of the half dozen who went.

We all returned safely. We dug our new gun emplacement but it was not so good as regards to fields of fire as our first position. The Battalion was now so short of men that Hart and myself as No.2 were the only ones left on the Maxim. The others, including Ball and Bibby, were taken back into the olive grove as riflemen. This was the last time I saw either of them. When the attack came later in the day it was to our left, and we fired and fired, but by then the Fascists had crossed the sunken road and were invisible in the trees. We carried on firing until our last belt, and then the gun jammed and lacking the tool to remove the faulty cartridge, we opened up the gun and took the lock out. By now we were almost surrounded, but we were able to make our way back to the olive grove where we met up with a few others ... I have wondered for years what happened to Ball and Bibby.

(3) Tommy James, A Lion of a Man (1985)

Tank shells began to fall all around us. At this moment Jock Cunningham... came up accompanied by Comrade Ball... They paused whilst jock scanned the Fascist positions through his field glasses. Suddenly, a shell burst right beside them... The explosion tore the leg off Comrade Ball... for a few minutes Ball lay, blood pouring from his ghastly wound and reddening the soil, but he died as he was carried away. I will never forget the look of rage and hatred upon Jock's face as he kicked loose soil over the blood soaked soil. Ball was his greatest friend.

(4) Thora Silverthorne, letter (9th March 1937)

Did you know that Comrade Ball of Reading (son of the chemist Dad was friendly with) was killed on this front! He'd behaved very well: the commandant praised him highly. Said he was due for promotion for his splendid behaviour. Please give my very sincere sympathy to Comrade Ball's father; tell him his son died with many other fine fellows but not in vain. The English comrades did much towards keeping our front: they set a splendid example and greatly raised the morale of the other battalions.