Sam Wild
Sam Wild was born in England. He joined the British Navy and served as a boatswain's mate. He later recalled: "These experiences accentuated the sympathy I had for minorities and a feeling that something was terribly wrong with the world." Eventually he "became anti-Queen, anti-King, anti-ruling class and anti-officer."
Wild became very concerned with the emergence of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany. He became a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, and was active in the protests against Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists.
Wild joined the International Brigades that fought on the side of the Republican Army in the Spanish Civil War. He explained why he took this decision: "Well, to me it was elementary. Here was fascism spreading all over the world, the rape of Abyssinia, the rise of fascism in Germany and the persecution of the Jews there, and the rise of the Blackshirts in Britain with their anti-Semitism, and especially their anti-Irishism. I felt that somebody had to do something to try and stop it."
He was wounded five times but recovered and was still in the front-line at Teruel in January 1938. The following month, Bill Alexander, the commander of the British Battalion, was wounded in the shoulder and invalided back home. Wild now replaced Alexander as the commander of the battalion.
Wild was a very unconventional commander. In his book, Into the Heart of the Fire: The British in the Spanish Civil War (1998), James Hopkins points out: "On one occasion, Wild happened to pass by as two of his men engaged in a lively fight. He immediately challenged whoever won, although both were considerably bigger than he. The second fight was as vigorous as the first, and Wild proved, as he had many times, why his manner was so well suited to a proletarian army. No one doubted Sam Wild's personal courage or leadership abilities, but he was also capable of impetuously stiffening the loose discipline that prevailed in the battalion with potentially devastating consequences."
James Griffiths was one of those who saw the fight: "One evening, while larking about, Joe Latus started to wrestle with one of his mates, an electrician from Liverpool. Joe was a big chap, about 5ft 10in. His opponent wets well over 6ft and well muscled. It was a good scrap. While it was on, Sam Wild came along. He watched for a while and when it was over he challenged the winner. I think it was Latus. Sam was not very big - about 5ft 7in, wiry muscle and bone. They rolled about stripped to the waist, over stones and pebbles and rough ground until both were exhausted. It finished in a friendly atmosphere. I relate this incident to indicate what sort of a man Wild was, perhaps one most fitted for the job he had to do."
It has been argued that Wild was "so verbally violent to his subordinates that the uninitiated departed with their confidence shaken." He had virtually no knowledge of military tactics but according to several of the men who were members of the battalion became "the best of the British commanders and was regarded by his followers as the most outstanding in the brigade."
Wild had an unconventional philosophy concerning leadership: "I've always been a man that thought all human beings are beautiful until I find them out, then when I find them out I'll kick them to death." John Dunlop claimed that on one occasion Wild executed one of his men after he got drunk and fired on his comrades: "I was told later that Sam Wild, the commander of the battalion and George Fletcher the second in command took Maurice Ryan for a walk and told him to go ahead of them and then they shot him in the back of the head. I also heard that George Fletcher was in tears over that."
Wild also had a serious drink problem. One of his men claimed: "If you've known Sam, you've never seen him sober." Wild was defended by another member of the battalion: "Sometimes comrades became the worse for drink. To deny that would be denying human nature... One could not be too hard on the few comrades who drank a glass too much at times. One never knew what the next day would bring."
On 15th March, 1938, Wild and the British Battalion begun its defence of Belchite. At Caspe they were forced to fight a heavy rearguard action. Wild and Harry Dobson were both captured but managed to escape. Wild was highly critical of his superiors: "I complained to brigade after the Caspe action on the lack of written orders stating at the time that the lack of written orders was responsible for a lot of the confusion."
Juan Negrin, in an attempt to relieve the pressure on the Spanish capital, ordered an attack across the fast-flowing Ebro. General Juan Modesto, a member of the Communist Party (PCE), was placed in charge of the offensive. Over 80,000 Republican troops, including the 15th International Brigade and the British Battalion, began crossing the river in boats on 25th July. The men then moved forward towards Corbera and Gandesa.
On 26th July the Republican Army attempted to capture Hill 481, a key position at Gandesa. Hill 481 was well protected with barbed wire, trenches and bunkers. The Republicans suffered heavy casualties and after six days was forced to retreat to Hill 666 on the Sierra Pandols. It successfully defended the hill from a Nationalist offensive in September but once again large numbers were killed.
Wild was the commander of the British Battalion at Ebro. After the battle he received the Republic's highest decoration for bravery. The citation read: "His untiring energy and efficiency gave an example of bravery to the whole battalion."
On 25th September 1938, Juan Negrin, head of the Republican government, announced for diplomatic reasons that the International Brigades would be unilaterally withdrawn from Spain. Before leaving for home Wild was quoted as saying: "The British Battalion is prepared to carry on the work begun here to see to it that our 500 comrades who sleep for ever beneath Spanish soil shall serve as an example to the entire British people in the struggle against fascism."
Sam Wild died in 1975. One of his former comrades said at the funeral that he "was a hero in his time, a leader of men who, when the call came, was ready to answer it."
Primary Sources
(1) Sam Wild, quoted in The Road to Spain: Anti-Fascists at War (1981)
Well, to me it was elementary. Here was fascism spreading all over the world, the rape of Abyssinia, the rise of fascism in Germany and the persecution of the Jews there, and the rise of the Blackshirts in Britain with their anti-Semitism, and especially their anti-Irishism. I felt that somebody had to do something to try and stop it.
(2) James Hopkins, Into the Heart of the Fire: The British in the Spanish Civil War (1998)
Alexander was wounded. Sam Wild replaced him, and became the last commander of the British Battalion. Wild had been a member of Copeman's machine-gun section at the Jarama and later a company commander under his leadership. He too was "a born leader," and, as such, saw no reason to emulate his predecessor. The ex-sailor and boilerman from the Paramount Theater in Manchester possessed his own special genius as a commander of men, as well as his own optimism that a new relationship was being forged between the classes on the battlefields of Spain. Wild once remarked that what bound together "workers and intellectuals ... trained and untrained soldiers ... all fighters for a new social order" was "unshakable unity."
Unlike Copeman, Wild was comparatively indifferent to the trappings of leadership. According to Jim Brewer, who was to serve in the Western Desert and Italy as an officer, "Sam didn't give a damn whether he shaved or not, or whether his boots were polished or anything like that because he was too busy getting on with the job. He behaved like a real first class British officer in battle." Yet it is difficult to imagine that an English officer would share Wild's philosophy of leadership: "I've always been a man that thought all human beings are beautiful until I find them out, then when I find them out I'll ... kick them to death." Nor was his toughness dissimulated. At the time of this comment, Wild had been wounded five times.
Certainly his anger at oppression was beyond question. During his travels in the British navy Wild saw native people "degraded." He said, "These experiences accentuated the sympathy I had for minorities and a feeling that something was terribly wrong with the world." Consequently, he took a greater interest in books and political change, particularly the Russian Revolution. Ultimately, his sense of estrangement from the symbols and institutions of British hegemony was complete. He "became anti-Queen, anti-King, anti-ruling class, and anti-officer." He deserted from the navy and was discharged "with ignominy," which Wild said, "was quite O.K. by me. " Brewer contrasted Wild with the middle-class commissar and later commander of the Anti-Tanks, Hugh Slater, who "was a travesty of an officer." An intimidating ideologue, Slater paid more attention to appearance than the importance of the task he was to perform. This was not the case with Wild. Under his command, the British continued to fight bravely and well.
(3) Billy Griffiths, Heroic Voices of the Spanish Civil War (2009)
One evening, while larking about, Joe Latus started to wrestle with one of his mates, an electrician from Liverpool. Joe was a big chap, about 5ft 10in. His opponent wets well over 6ft and well muscled. It was a good scrap. While it was on, Sam Wild came along. He watched for a while and when it was over he challenged the winner. I think it was Latus. Sam was not very big - about 5ft 7in, wiry muscle and bone. They rolled about stripped to the waist, over stones and pebbles and rough ground until both were exhausted. It finished in a friendly atmosphere. I relate this incident to indicate what sort of a man Wild was, perhaps one most fitted for the job he had to do.
(4) James Hopkins, Into the Heart of the Fire: The British in the Spanish Civil War (1998)
In the weeks before the crossing of the Ebro, a number of minor misdeeds and disturbances required attention. Griffiths became concerned about Wild's informal style of administering justice, and the fact that his punishments usually consisted of simply digging a latrine. The Welshman did not believe this was "fair," arguing that a real court with a prosecutor and defense should be set up. This was done, but in the face of an ineffectual prosecution and an effective counsel for the defense, the next miscreant was found not guilty. "That was our first and last Court Marshal. Sam had no faith in it anymore so they were discontinued."
The British commander's methods remained more straightforward. On one occasion, Wild happened to pass by as two of his men engaged in a lively fight. He immediately challenged whoever won, although both were considerably bigger than he. The second fight was as vigorous as the first, and Wild proved, as he had many times, why his manner was so well suited to a proletarian army. No one doubted Sam Wild's personal courage or leadership abilities, but he was also capable of impetuously stiffening the loose discipline that prevailed in the battalion with potentially devastating consequences. When some of the men became drunk in a neighboring village and threw several hand grenades, fortunately with no injuries, Wild adopted draconian measures. There would be no more wine in the battalion for anyone, and the village was off limits to all. This was particularly hard on the Spaniards in the battalion, for whom wine was a customary part of their diet.
Griffiths was outraged. "Mass punishment was indefensible. The innocent were being punished with the guilty." Disaffection grew in the battalion with such startling rapidity that Griffiths believed there was no time to lose in getting Wild to change his mind. He called a meeting of the battalion and company party committees, in all about twenty volunteers, who met in a wooded area away from the other men. There were angry words. Not a few of them were directed at the hypocrisy of Wild's behavior. For despite his indisputable merits, the British commander himself had a serious drinking problem. From the standpoint of his men, there had been too many nights when their commander returned to the battalion in an inebriated condition. Benny Goodman, who had worked in the clothing trade in Manchester, was a great admirer of Wild's leadership. "If somebody says you have to reach it ... he'd just have to reach it." By this time, Wild's personal courage was legend. "He was fearless." But this did not mean his conduct was beyond reproach. Goodman remarked, "If you've known Sam, you've never seen him sober." Yet he added, this remarkable man was never drunk in combat. For the older veterans, however, Wild's habits stood in stark contrast to Fred Copeman's abstemiousness.
A second meeting was convened, consisting of Dobson, Cooney, Griffiths, and Wild. From the military and party perspective Wild had to be persuaded to withdraw the order or be replaced. Griffiths said, "This would be my job." He decided to be "brutally frank. No details were left out and no feelings were spared." Wild was deeply embarrassed and had little to offer in his defense. Cooney stepped forward in behalf of Wild as being the best man for the job, and the party, therefore, had to play a constructive role in helping him overcome his weaknesses.
(5) James Griffiths , Heroic Voices of the Spanish Civil War (2009)
Our food was quite monotonous. It hardly varied: bread and coffee for breakfast; carrabunces for dinner and lentils for supper. However, there was some slight advantage in being attached to HQ [headquarters]. After dinner, and sometimes after supper, Monty Sim's batman brought out the scraps for disposal into an improvised bin. All eyes were fixed on him as he scraped the plates clean and when he had gone, there was a concerted rush to delve among the scraps! It was an undignified sight. These were cultured men. Hickman, the head of the observers, had led a sheltered life: prep school, public school, Cambridge, a degree and an apprenticeship with Dunlop, then Spain. Joe Latus, a trawler captain; an American news reporter and so on. Yet the food was irresistible: a bit of liver or meat on a bone, perhaps a potato. It was a change.
One evening, while larking about, Joe Latus started to wrestle with one of his mates, an electrician from Liverpool. Joe was a big chap, about 5ft 10in. His opponent wets well over 6ft and well muscled. It was a good scrap. While it was on, Sam Wild came along. He watched for a while and when it was over he challenged the winner. I think it was Latus. Sam was not very big - about 5ft 7in, wiry muscle and bone. They rolled about stripped to the waist, over stones and pebbles and rough ground until both were exhausted. It finished in a friendly atmosphere. I relate this incident to indicate what sort of a man Wild was, perhaps one most fitted for the job he had to do.