Mine Were of Trouble: A Nationalist Account of the Spanish Civil War

by Peter Kemp

The Spanish Civil War ( Guerra Civil Española).
Escalating violence between left- and right-wing political factions boils over. Military officers stage a coup against a democratically elected, Soviet-backed, government. The country is thrown into chaos as centuries-old tensions return to the forefront. Hundreds of thousands of Spaniards choose sides and engage in the most devastating combat since the First World War. For loyalists to the Republic, the fight is seen as one for equality and their idea of progress. For the rebels, the struggle is a preemptive strike by tradition against an attempted communist takeover.
Thousands of foreigners, too, join the struggle. Most fight with the Soviet-sponsored International Brigades or other militias aligned with the loyalist "Republicans". Only a few side with the rebel "Nationalists". One of these rare volunteers for the Nationalists was Peter Kemp, a young British law student. Kemp, despite having little training or command of the Spanish language, was moved by the Nationalist struggle against international Communism. Using forged documents, he sneaked into Spain and joined a traditionalist militia, the Requetés, with which he saw intense fighting. Later, he volunteered to join the legendary and ruthless Spanish Foreign Legion, where he distinguished himself with heroism. Because of this bravery, he was one of the few foreign volunteers granted a private audience with Generalissimo Francisco Franco.
Kemp published his story... one of the only English accounts of the war from the Nationalist perspective, after a prestigious military career with the British Special Operations Executive during the Second World War.

Genres: History

273 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 19, 2022

Reviews

[Arad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mine Were of Trouble is a first-person account of the Spanish civil war from a nationalistic perspective, a point of view often forgotten in comparison to the more well-known accounts of Orwell and Hemingway.
While the book is very interesting and adventurous, Kemp - who was a 21-year-old English graduate when he first arrived in the Spanish frontier - turns his book into an overly detailed diary of irrelevant events and encounters. Instead of focusing on the actions, personal misfortunes, adventures and geo-politics, it often gets boring; one example is almost a whole page explaining how he crossed the Franco-Spanish border (spoiler: 3 lines could be enough).
Because of the nature of the book, taking place almost all over Spain, a map now and then would've been useful, as many of the locations mentioned are almost unknown to non-Spaniards (I believe one version of the book indeed contains a map of sorts, judging some footnotes). The locations in which he spent time or fought are crucial for the understanding of the events and experiences he tells us about, but having a map or Google Maps open nearby while reading is not always comfortable.
I did enjoy very much Kemp's vocabulary and wording, and of course reading the accounts of the civil war from an early Cold War perspective. Such qualities may be found only in older books, unfortunately.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned about this book at a WW2 reenactment event in Lockport IL. I’ll never forget it.

I learned that the fastest growing reenactment crowd in America has become Spanish Civil War reenactors. All the young people were dressed up as either Republicans or Nationalists in a small section of the park.

The republican reenactors were young, multi colored haired, marxists, and the nationalists were a bunch of young, well dressed Roman Catholic men. One of the latter recommended this book to me when I asked for an English language primary source account book about the Nationalist side of the War.

Kemp’s story is phenomenal. It’s super important to read about the atrocities that the Republicans committed against innocent men women and children, simply because of their Christian faith.

The story of finding the crucified and burned alive Priest at the hands of the Republican Communists was a warning for America today.

As Kemp reminds us: in ideological civil wars, no prisoners are kept for years of the consider, as both sides cannot envision living peaceably or being governed by the other side. And in a war between Christians and communists, only the Christians will ever end up taking prisoners because they believe in the inherent value of human life and having mercy as Our Father has mercy.

Another interesting sight that Kemp gives us is the insight into the Spanish nationalists. They were not friends of the Nazis, and some of them were strictly Monarchists. Some were cruel. Kemp’s story is not one sided or hagiography.

I recommend this book to all Christians living in a post Christian America. Watch out! Take it to heart and prepare yourself.

As someone raised in public schools, I never ever was taught about the Spanish civil war in any substantive sense. I loved Hemingway and cheered for his heroes as they shot and killed Christians in the Spanish fields and mountains.

Never again!

[M Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Spanish Civil War is one of the historical events which the standard works do not inspire confidence that one is getting the whole story. In most of these instances, the issue has become so politicized in British academic and publishing circles that "the rest of the story" gets buried. I've read probably 100 histories of the 1930s of which a half dozen were on the Spanish Civil War and rarely got a sniff at a balanced account, even from Orwell or Koestler.

This book starts me down the rabbit hole of the Nationalist side and what the aristocrats were fighting for. Incidentally, this rabbit hole will be hard to explore since so many of the people mentioned have no wikipedia page and have just vanished from history, while every scribbler in the International Brigade has been lionized.

The narrative itself is fast-paced and reasonably honest. It is very good by the standards of soldier memoirs.

[Edmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish there was a map so I could see more clearly what areas he was talking about but otherwise an interesting read

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping, honest memoir of the Spanish Civil War. Peter Kemp’s account is clear-eyed, courageous, and deeply human. He tells his story without glorifying war or pushing an agenda—just what he saw, felt, and believed. Short, powerful, and unforgettable.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting account of the Spanish Civil War from a Nationalist view point. Recommended to adults.