Six of the women were trained nurses on their way to
work in the hospitals of Spain. The young man in charge was
from London, a radio announcer. He had already seen serv»
ice in the English 16th Battalion of the 15th Brigade, had been
wounded and after recovery was returning to take up work
again.

Towards the middle of the forenoon of that day, we were
all taken to the military headquarters at Figueras some distance
from Port Bou. We were welcomed at the chateau by the
Commandant. As I entered the vaultelike rooms of this ancient
fortress, I was surprised to hear my name shouted across
the crowd. A group of 50 recruits busily completing their
papers of enlistment broke away to greet us. I soon heard
Montreal, Winnipeg, New York, Toronto, etc., with names and
faces I had met before in many parts of Canada and the States.
One of the first things that greeted my eyes was a slogan
roughly printed on the wall; “Long Live the People’s Front of
The World."

Our party proceeded to the city of Albacete. We passed
through Barcelona and Valencia. Everywhere we were
reminded of the war. The trains were crowded to capacity
and discomfort. The weather was blistering with heat. We
grabbed off something to eat wherever a chance presented it«
self. The train moved along at the rate of from four to ten
miles per hour. In the night all lights were shaded to a mere
glimmer. The nurses were busy helping mothers ‘who had lit»
tle children in their care. Hundreds of soldiers and recruits
were on board. The commotion was endless but the good na~
ture of the people never seemed to break or fail.

We arrived at Albacete on August 6th, where the head’
quarters of the 15th International Brigade with General Belov
in command is situated. Here our group was separated. Many
of the nurses were dispatched at once to work in hospitals,

where there was urgent need of extra help. I began to make

arrangements for my proposed visit to the hospitals. The

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