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Britain and the Franco regime: diplomatic and imperial perspectives

These two volumes are the latest offerings from the Studies in Contemporary Spain series whose general editor is Professor Paul Preston of the London School of Economics. At first glance Richard Wigg and Gareth Stockey appear to have little in common. Wigg comes to his work after 27 years as a foreign correspondent for The Times. Stockey’s book is his first foray into print and is based closely on his University of Lancaster doctoral thesis. Furthermore, Stockey’s focus on AngloGibraltarian-Spanish relations on the Gibraltar frontier between 1923 and 1954 seems somewhat removed from Wigg’s analysis of the London–Madrid diplomatic relationship during the Second World War. Nevertheless, upon closer inspection it is obvious that remarkable synergies do exist between these two volumes. Both Stockey and Wigg employ extensive archival material. Churchill and Spain draws upon resources in Madrid, at the Archivo General of the Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, as well as at the University of Cambridge where the private collections of Sir Samuel Hoare (later Lord Templewood) and Sir Winston Churchill are both held. In addition, Wigg has not only ploughed material available at The National Archive/Public Record Office in London but also used the relatively new Freedom of Information Act in order to gain access to records that would otherwise have been unavailable for a number of years. Wigg’s work stands on its own merit (of which more below), but his research has practically benefited those working on Anglo-Spanish relations during the Second World War. Stockey’s research is neither less impressive nor less extensive. Again, much use has been made of the material available at the Public Record Office (Stockey eschews the designation ‘The National Archive’ on ideological grounds, see fn. 4, p. 233). In addition, hitherto unused material from the Gibraltar Government