First Briton to sign up for Spanish Civil War who fought against racism

Howard "Andy" Andrews, who died on 7 May, 2008, aged 101, was a passionate fighter for freedom and a tireless campaigner against racism throughout his life.

He took on fascists General Franco and Oswald Mosley and relentlessly campaigned against inequality.

Mr Andrews, who lived in Taunton and died three months after his 101st birthday, was the first Briton to sign up to fight the ruthless dictator Franco during Spain’s bloody civil war in 1936 and, more than 70 years on, he became the oldest speaker to take to the stage at Glastonbury Festival to deliver an anti-BNP speech at the grand age of 100.

Tributes have poured in for the man who, at 99, set up Somerset’s first branch of the Communist Party and became widely known for his modesty, bravery and unflinching beliefs. He died at his home after a short illness.

Jim Jump, chairman of the International Brigade Memorial Trust, said: "He had been campaigning until the end and died after suddenly becoming ill. Andy was one of the heroic 2,003 men and women who risked their lives to fight fascism while the rest of the world looked away."

Mr Andrews preferred to recall his experiences in the Royal Medical Corps and the part he played fighting General Franco’s troops without fanfare. But he was guest of honour at a celebration in Taunton to mark his birthday in February, 2008.

As an active member of Taunton Peace Group and the South West TUC, plus local trade union councils, Mr Andrews inspired thousands of people to stand up for their beliefs.

Secretary of the Somerset branch of the Communist Party, Ken Keable, said: "We in the branch loved Andy dearly and he made a great contribution to our work, providing us with a place to meet, chairing our meetings and generously funding our younger members to travel to London for political events.

"In his electric buggy, he sold the Morning Star on the streets of Taunton and played an active part in the Taunton Peace Group where he was also immensely popular."

The secretary of Bridgwater Trades Council, Dave Chapple, was a friend of Mr Andrews for many years and compiled a biography of the incredible man.

Mr Chapple said: "He was born in Kilburn, north-west London, in February 1907. He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps at 16 and in 1924 was posted to Quetta, Baluchistan, British India.

"He never forgot the poorest Indian women of Bombay, some of them with babies on their backs, loading coal on to the steamships, and when he left the Army, he immediately addressed street meetings back in Kilburn, telling people about the real British Empire."

As a 29-year-old medic in 1936, Mr Andrews travelled to northern Spain and served at some of the toughest battles in the civil wars.

After the conflict, he returned to London and joined the Royal Artillery before being posted to Dunkirk in France where, once again, he was lucky to escape alive. He was eventually demobbed and in 1955 moved to Taunton after the break-up of his marriage.

On his last birthday, Mr Andrews said: "Taunton is home to me now, although I’m the last of my family left. I’m like the last of the Mohicans."

He worked for 17 years as an assistant in the pharmacy at the town’s Musgrove Park Hospital and joined the health union COHSE, which later became Unison, increasing its branch membership from five to 105 – for which the union awarded him a merit medal.

He suffered a beating at the hands of Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts in the 1930s and campaigned against racism, sexism and inequality all his life.