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WOMEN AND SPANISH FASCISM -- THE WOMEN'S SECTION OF THE FALANGE 1934-1959 |
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Acknowledgements Very many colleagues and friends in Spain and Britain have contributed in a variety of ways to this book, which started as a Ph.D. thesis at the University of Southampton. I would like to acknowledge a huge debt of gratitude to my supervisor, Angel Smith, whose encouragement, far-reaching subject knowledge and good humour has guided me through every stage of the research and writing. In 1994, I benefited from a schoolteacher studentship to Merton College, Oxford, giving me unrivalled study facilities at an early stage. And in the following years, the interventions and support of Peter Johnson and John Bradshaw have made it possible to combine research with full-time employment. Over a period of seven years, the Asociación Nueva Andadura in Madrid has given me generous access to its archive and has answered numerous queries, arranged interviews and provided important documentation. My thanks to their President, Adelaida del Pozo, for permission to include the photograph of Pilar Primo de Rivera and also to Andresa Enseñat, Viky Eiroa, Mónica Plaza and Teresa Loring for their time and patience. The readiness of all interviewees to talk about their life experiences and respond frankly and fully to questions has been central to this project and I am deeply grateful. Others have worked on my behalf to secure many of these interviews: particular thanks go to Sheila Profit, Dolores Rodríguez, Isabel Giménez, Margarita Díaz-Andreu, Rachel Messina and Conchita Valladolid. In the castle of La Mota, Antonia Ortolá allowed me access to its remoter corners, a wealth of local knowledge and permission to include photographs from her personal archive. In this regard, I am also grateful to Julia Alcántara for sending me her collection of photographs of Sección Femenina (SF) in the 1930s and 1940s and giving permission for them to be included here. And to Rafael Delgado Núñez, the Secretary-General of the Consejería de Educación y Cultura, La Junta de Castilla-León, my thanks for his permission to photograph the interior of La Mota. Between research visits, offers of help from many sources enabled me to work on aspects of SF and prepare for the next round of interviews. The library and Civil War ephemera of John and Gillian Poland proved especially valuable, as did the discussions with Miguel Angel Carnicer, who shared his research findings on SEU (sindicato español universitario). I was given insights into Catholicism by Sister Patricia Bolton, who also secured contacts with visiting Spanish clergy and the Benedictine community. In Spain, this contact was furthered through Father Manuel Garrido of the Abadía de la Santa Cruz, Valle de Los Caídos, who kindly accessed the abbey’s archive on my behalf. The comments and advice on aspects of my writing given by Paul Preston, Helen Graham, Neil Gregor, Joan Tumblety and Mike Richards at various points have helped me greatly. Inés Ruiz undertook the translation of the original thesis into Spanish and worked closely with the Asociación Nueva Andadura on my behalf when revisions to the text were being made. Linda Martin’s help in verifying sources, collecting press articles, researching endless queries in Spain and Britain and proofreading has been invaluable, as were the discussions on the regime and the textual suggestions of Mari Nicholson, Pru Lee and Lolita Bermúdez-Cañete Orth. I am also grateful for the assistance of Judy Dunn, Lesley Thompson and Carly Dawkins in organizing the final text and producing the tables. Finally, the support of three sets of friends has been fundamental throughout. The endless hospitality and practical help of Vicente Luengo and Ana de la Fuente made every research visit to Madrid a pleasurable experience. I am grateful to Keith Pritchard, who has accompanied my remoter excursions in search of former SF members and learned more about Sección Femenina than he had perhaps intended. And in Salamanca, the friendship of Jesús Angel Martínez and Esperanza Marcos has enriched this project and sustained me at crucial moments. Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders either for their permission to reprint material or for details relating to references contained in this book. The publisher would be grateful to hear from any copyright holder who is not here acknowledged, and will undertake to rectify any errors or omissions in future editions of this book.
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