(1) James Hopkins, Into the Heart of the Fire: The British in the Spanish Civil War (1998)

The first commander of the British Battalion was Wilfred Macartney. Although not a communist, he had been sent to prison in Great Britain for disclosing military secrets to the Russians. His account of his experience, The Walls Have Mouths, became a huge success." He was, at first, highly regarded by both the men and the commissars. Springhall wrote, "McCartney [sic] has taken over as commandant of the Battalion. He is making a big hit with the lads & I think will do the job very well.... He has always acted with decisiveness & showed clear thinking and good military leadership."

By January 6, however, there were hints of trouble. Peter Kerrigan believed that disciplinary problems and a bad cold had considerably affected Macartney's spirits. Kerrigan asked Pollitt if he would send Macartney a letter singing his praises. It would also help, he said, if the "DW [Daily Worker] ... put [him] across big."" Kerrigan still was hopeful that Macartney would prove to be an effective leader. "He really is very capable indeed and in my opinion well respected by the men." Two weeks later Macartney's fellow writer and second-in-command, Tom Wintringham, reported that Macartney was "doing great work." But he echoed Kerrigan's concerns to Harry Pollitt that his commander labored "under a heavy load of discouragement, and you would be wise to try to get some cheering messages to him." Only now was the seriousness of the situation conceded by Wintringham. "He is not now talking about resigning, as he was a week ago, but he is still showing temperament." In addition, Wintringham believed his superior was too soft-hearted in administering discipline."

On the same day that Wintringham wrote, Kerrigan told Pollitt more harshly, "Now McCartney [sic] is a problem and a worry." Kerrigan still believed he was the only one who could command the battalion, but the Scot's patience was wearing thin. "My impression about [him] is that he is far too irritable or querulous and I feel this has an effect on his ability to inspire the men with confidence in himself."" George Aitken, the steady political commissar who had been brought out from England, added with quiet understatement, "Mac is a rather difficult man to handle."" But the most damning indictment that Kerrigan lay before the head of the British Communist party was that Macartney had become "very critical of the Party." On February 1st Kerrigan told Pollitt that "the Zero hour is coming quickly," probably referring to the approach of battle but perhaps also to the crisis in the battalion leadership.

 

(2) Peter Kerrigan, Heroic Voices of the Spanish Civil War (2009)

The early Britishers had passed through the Thaelmann and other battalions, the French at least. I know that there were Slavs as well, because I came across and got very friendly with a little Bulgarian representative who was a base commissar for the Bulgarians. So there were Eastern Europeans and Polish there. Later, among the British, there were Cypriots and others. Among the Americans were Cubans. The battalion at this time was about 600 [men], with my group, No 1 Company, and the other volunteers that were trickling in. In January a big thing happened: a packing case arrived with new Russian rifles. You fired these rifles with the bayonet on and they made a very big difference. There was also the old Maxim, an old-fashioned heavy machine gun, but rather deadly when it was being used, especially if at not too long a range.

The command structure in the British Battalion at this point was that each company had a company commander with NCOs below them. Above them all was the battalion commander (Wilfred McCartney), the deputy commander (Tom Wintringham), the second-in-command and the battalion political commissar. I was the base commissar. It was at about this time that (George) Nathan was taken away to divisional headquarters. He became Chief of Staff at division and he was killed at Brunete. He was a very brave man. He worked by example as well as being disciplined.

I think I should mention here what happened in connection with McCartney, who had to go back to England. He didn't ask to go back but he had to go back. I understand that he had done 9 years of his 12-year sentence for espionage. He wrote a book afterwards called Walls Have Mouths, which was about his experiences in prison. I don't know if he was guilty or not but he was found guilty. Anyway, he was going back and I visited him in his room before he went back to have a talk with him about the situation with the battalion and so on. It was the intention that he would come back. This was about mid-January but he had a big, heavy revolver and I had a rather small Belgian revolver, and he said: "Look Peter, how about you giving me your revolver. I am going through France I don't want to lump this thing about". I said all right. He asked to show me how to operate it. I took the revolver in my hand but I can't say for sure whether or not I touched the safety catch, or whether it was off or not, or whether I touched the trigger, but suddenly there was a shot and I had hit him in the arm with a bullet from the small Belgian revolver. We rushed him to hospital, got him an anti-tetanus injection and he was patched up and off he went.

Why did he go back? I am certain it was not to get him out of the command position although he was, how shall I put it, a British military officer type. He was not terribly popular in the battalion but I think he was respected for his ability. He was a capable military officer. He had a rather arrogant style. I was not given the job of getting rid of him. I have nothing to hide about it. It was an accident.'

 

(3) Hugh Purcell, Tom Wintringham (2004)

McCartney was unpopular. A former British Army officer recently released from prison for spying for the Soviet Union, he was not a Communist. He frequently lost his temper and he held hierarchical views about his status that were out of place in a people's army, however disciplined. When news came through from London that he had to return to England because his ticket of leave after prison parole had expired, no tears were shed. Then an extraordinary accident occurred. On 6 February, Kerrigan entertained McCartney to a farewell dinner in Albacete during which he persuaded him to leave behind his big Mauser pistol in exchange for Kerrigan's Belgian .22. The Mauser was loaded and accidently Kerrigan touched the trigger, shooting McCartney in the arm and instantly rendering him unfit for combat. By such an improbable accident - for it was an accident, despite suspicions to the contrary - did Tom Wintringham become Commander of the British Battalion on the eve of its first battle.

 

(4) Charles Sewell Bloom, Heroic Voices of the Spanish Civil War (2009)

Tom Wintringham was second-in-command and Peter Kerrigan was political commander of the brigade. We were going to the front and Wilfred McCartney didn't want to go back. He said he was going with the fellows to the front. Peter Kerrigan and the rest of us thought he shouldn't, and it so happens that he shot him in the arm to make him go back to hospital. That was the only way to get him back because we didn't want to give him a bad name.

 

(5) George Leeson, Imperial War Museum Sound Archives (803/4)

This was a tremendous shock! Nobody liked McCartney with his 1914 ideas but to find your battalion commander is not there when you are about to go into battle and a kind of instructor is in command! Well, it's a very demoralising thing, particularly in these mysterious circumstances. All sorts of rumours started to go round: 'McCartney's deserted!' 'McCartney's committed suicide!' "Pete Kerrigan's shot McCartney!" This turned out to be true.