Our Fathers Fought Franco

Portraits from a recent assignment here in Glasgow, down by the River Clyde, to photograph a group shot of Willy Maley, Tam Watters, and Jennie Renton, who have come together, along with Lisa Croft, to write the story of their fathers who went to fight fascism in Franco’s Spain, The book ‘Our Fathers Fought Franco’, is published by Luath Press.

The portraits were photographed for The Bell, down by La Pasionaria statue on the side of the River Clyde, in Glasgow. You can read the artcile the images were taken to accompany, here, ‘What happened to the Scots who went to fight in the Spanish Civil War?’ by Francisco Garcia.

The La Pasionaria statue is a memorial to the International Brigade volunteers who went to fight in the Spanish Civil War. The statue was created by Arthur Dooley in 1974.

Willy Maley (on left), Jennie Renton (centre) and Tam Watters (right), at the La Pasionaria statue on Clydeside, in Glasgow, Scotland, 2025. © Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert 2025.

The book ‘Our Fathers Fought Franco’, is described by Luath Press as, “A resonant piece of working-class history, this book is a living link to four extraordinary stories. Why did these young men put their lives on the line and go to Spain to fight with the International Brigades?

How did they all end up in the same prison cell?

And what is their legacy today?”

Tam Watters, by the River Clyde, in Glasgow, Scotland, 2025. © Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert 2025

Jennie Renton, at the La Pasionaria statue on Clydeside, in Glasgow, Scotland, 15 January 2025. © Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert 2025