The award-winning investigative series returns, in which Mike Thomson takes a document as a starting-point to shed new light on past events.
Franco's British Friends
MondayÌý29 January 2007
ocumentÌý uncovers evidence that a group of British aristocrats and celebrities helped the fascist leader, General Franco during the Spanish Civil War.
Britain was officially neutral throughout the conflict that tore Spain apart between 1936 to 1939. Much has been made of the contribution to the left-wing Spanish government’s cause by British celebrities like George Orwell (Arthur Blair) but far less is known about the help given by their counterparts on the right.
Recently released documents from MI5 show that a cast of colourful characters secretly flew planes to Franco from an air-base near London.
Amongst them was a famous flying ace, a top racing driver and an aristocrat whose brother later shot to fame after Rudolph Hess parachuted onto his estate during World war 2.
