Griff Maclaurin and Steve Yates were part of the International Column of anti-fascist volunteers who marched into Madrid, bolstering the city's defences against the assault of General Franco's rebel armies. They were killed in battle within two days of arriving
Griff Maclaurin was one of the first international volunteers to be killed in the Spanish Civil War. On 8 November 1936, Maclaurin marched into Madrid with the International Column, along with volunteers from all over Europe. Within two days he and his comrade Steve Yates, also reputed to have been born in New Zealand, were killed at their machine gun covering the retreat of a unit in the Casa del Campo.
