Franco shot many, and froze and starved the rest in his prisons.

After the Civil War, Franco shot a quarter of a million of the helpless, unarmed "riff raff", many dragged out of their homes, from their wives and children.

In the last fifteen years, much of Spain has become middle class. When International Volunteers - now mostly in their 90s - come on visits, theylove to play up their vulgarity; tipping glasses of their urine onto Franco's tomb, and whatever.

Franco vilified the aviators as illiterate scum. To go to France or Russia to train, they had to pass high level maths for navigation.

Franco "obliterated" his war in the air; he expunged the Republican Aviators from history. Franco glorified and trumpeted his land war.

Those Republican Aviators who Franco had banished, had razed from history for more than 60 years, step back into history with this book.

And with them, the unbearably poignant story of Dawn Spencer, a young Austalian newspaper-woman, with her life of overwhelming emotions.