Wilfred McCartney was a left wing journalist who had been imprisoned for spying. While in prison he wrote the bestseller 'Walls have Mouths' that made him a wealthy man. He was university educated and served in World War I. He was accused in Spain by Irish volunteers of having been a British Army terrorist in Ireland (Black and Tan).

He fought on the Madrid front October-December 1936. He was British Battalion Commander from December 1936-February 1937. At its base at Madrigueras he was responsible for the organisation and training of the Battalion. Under his command he reduced the opening hours of local cafes to reduce drunkenness and introduced a guardhouse for insubordination.

He was happier with ex-military men and less at home with the politicos in the Battalion. He was also critical of the British Communist Party. It seems that he lost the support of the volunteers and the Communist Party. He was due to return home briefly to England as a condition of his release from prison. A going away party was arranged and at this party he was accidentally wounded in the arm. It is possible that the shot was deliberate as it was fired by the Communist Commissar who had World War I experience. He never returned to Spain.

British Battalion Commanders in the Spanish Civil War

Wilfred McCartney
Tom Wintringham (1898-1946)
Jock Cunningham
Fred Copeman