Letter (copy) : International Brigade ; Letter : International Solidarity Fund

              International. 
WMC/AC/DT/90.
8th October, 1942.
Mr. R. Prain, 
Electrical Trades Union,
Ollerenshaw Hall,
Whaley Bridge,
Stockport,
CHESHIRE.
Dear Mr. Prain,
INTERNATIONAL BRIGADE.
Thank you for your letter of 5th October in which you ask whether a grant could be made from the International Solidarity Fund to secure the release of former members of the International Brigade who are now interned in Southern France.
The General Council had this matter under consideration some time ago on the request of an affiliated Union, when it was decided that as our appeal for Spain was made specifically for the workers in Spain the monies in the Fund had to be regarded as earmarked for that purpose.
I hope you wont mind if I comment on the general issue involved because it does have a bearing on the question your Sutton branch has raised.   Their correspondence with you probably arises from proposals which have been circulated recently by the International Brigade Association.   It may serve to explain the position if I attach herewith an extract from the Official Report of the House of Commons of 1st October, 1941.
Efforts to deal with the matter on the lines of the International Brigade Association's suggestions would presuppose relationships between the Government in question on a more cordial plane than existed in the Autumn of 1941. You will appreciate that the position with regard to the relationships between British (or United States) and Vichy Governments has certainly not improved since then.