"From among his extensive career his great work, La Guerra Civil Española, [The Spanish Civil War], which was first published in 1961 and reprinted on numerous occasions, has become a classic and a must-read reference book both within and beyond our borders, for those who seek an accurate account of that painful period in the history of our nation", pointed out the minister.
"A convinced pro-European, an admirer of Spanish history, life and customs, he bequeathed us this extensive and detailed bibliography from his Hispanist viewpoint", added the Minister for Education, Culture and Sport. "A work with which he was able to shed light on various events in our history, looking in from the outside, determined to achieve an impartial, academic, informative and novel account".
"We must thank Lord Thomas of Swynnerton, that through his work and love of Spain, he was able to help us to better understand our nation and discover aspects of our history that were not always recounted from a historical point of view, with the guarantee of someone not influenced by ideological fervour when it came to putting pen to paper".
To end, the minister highlighted that, "Hugh Thomas managed to bring together a large majority of Spaniards with a single account of the events of the civil war, as a forerunner to the spirit of reconciliation which, in 1978, would embody the values of the Transition and of our Constitution".
Hugh Thomas was a member of the Spanish Royal Academy of History, the Seville Royal Academy of Literature, and was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabel the Catholic, the Grand Cross of Alfonso X the Wise, and the Command of the Order of Civil Merit, among other distinctions, in recognition of his works and career.
Pool Moncloa / Diego Crespo