We Shall Pass

By: Clifford Thurlow

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Paperback | 1 June 2026

At a Glance

Paperback
306 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
19.84 x 12.85 x 1.93

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1936. Spain erupts in civil war. The Republic forms an International Brigade and calls for volunteers to combat a Nationalist uprising led by General Franco.

After his best friend Jimmy is killed by a police baton on a hunger march to London, Glaswegian Robbie Gillan has a fist fight with the mortician. The police are called and sympathetic nurse Alice Sheridan gives Robbie £5 when he tells her he wants to join the battle in Spain.

Alice's twin brother Simon argues with his father over Spain and leaves on the night ferry for Paris where the volunteers are gathering. In a knife fight with Franco loyalists, Robbie Gillan saves Simon's life and the two men, opposites in class and temperament, cross France and climb the Pyrenees to Spain. Alice, drawn by emotions that are not entirely clear to her, soon follows with the Red Cross.

The battle cry of the Spanish Republic was No pasar¡n. Pasaremos. They shall not pass. We Shall Pass - the defining spirit of this gripping novel that takes us into the heart of war and reveals the enduring power of love, hope and defiance as Robbie and Alice must overcome every obstacle to be together.

Industry Reviews

Young idealistic British volunteers to the Spanish Civil War find themselves in a Guernica-like nightmare, an ever-rising body count. Add a love triangle stretched across the extremes of the English 1930s class system and you have something very powerful. PETER YORK

We Shall Pass passes on every level. As a story of friendship, adversity and political commitment. A timely reminder, if we ever need one. NEIL JORDAN

Thurlow is a fine writer as well as a very good storyteller. MK WALLINGTON

This heartfelt novel takes the reader into the horrors of the Spanish Civil War, when the small but well-intentioned Republican International Brigade took on the might of Franco's vicious army... Clifford Thurlow has done great research on the horrors of the war with intimate details based around real battles where the Republicans would take on the enemy, despite being outnumbered with inferior weapons. Hand-to-hand fighting prevails in the need to secure small patches of land, ground that would often be regained the following day. There is room for a touching romance in this gripping story, that is informative about a dangerous period in Europe before the Second World War, centred on lasting friendships and family ties. BEST OF BRITISH

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