Eric 'Winkle' Brown
A FAMOUS British pilot fought with the Spanish Republicans as a teenager, it has been revealed.
Eric “Winkle” Brown, a Scottish test pilot who was recognised as having flown more types of aircraft than any other person in history, joined to fight to defend the Spanish Republic in 1936, documentary film-maker Nicholas Jones said on Saturday.
As a student at Edinburgh University, Mr Brown met a man who convinced him to fly for the beleaguered democratic government, whose air force had been devastated by defections to Francisco Franco’s fascist forces.
![Harry Pollitt (right) with International Brigade volunteer David Guest, who was killed at the Ebro in July 1938 [Pic: Marx Memorial Library]](https://msd11.gn.apc.org/sites/default/files/styles/desktop/public/2026-07/a-2_a_50b_Harry%20Pollitt_David_Guest.jpg.webp?itok=Ag0u-8n5)
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