!Salud!
SALUD! reviews the enormously valuable contributions of the volunteers who left Britain to serve with the Republican Medical Services during the Spanish Civil War. Acknowledgement is also given to the immense effort and self-sacrifice made by men and women from all walks of life who, working ceaselessly at home, made it possible for the medical teams to function in Spain. In Britain, in spite of the government’s official policy of non-intervention, there was a campaign of fervent support for the legitimate Republican government. The first British Medical Unit in Spain had immense political significance for the Spanish Republic. Barely a month into the start of the civil war, this small group was the first visible sign of international support. It would later become part of the Republican Medical Service and, within that, of the Medical Service of the International Brigades. Not only did volunteers help to create and maintain an emergency medical service, some of the individuals were al