The Freedom Tree is a novel for Young Adults set in the Spanish Civil War. The year is 1936. The rise of fascism has plunged Spain into savage conflict. Ever since his father died fighting for the Republicans in Spain, Will has felt drawn to their cause; but when he tries to join up as a volunteer in the International Brigade he is told he is too young.
So Will travels to London where he meets a group of young men committed to the Republican cause. Together they embark on a perilous journey through France in a van they call Pegasus, carrying smuggled guns and ammunition. They narrowly escape the clutches of the French authorities and finally reach the Spanish border.
Will and his comrades are soon in combat, first in the freezing, rat-infested trenches of the Aragon front, then in defence of supply routes vital to the failing Republican cause at Jarama. Will meets Molly, a volunteer nurse. They are captured by Moroccan troops serving under General Franco. Together they seize a chance to escape north, reaching Guernica, a small market town as yet untouched by war.
Yet Guernica’s symbolic significance is far greater than its physical size, for it is the home of the Freedom Tree, a sacred oak under whose branches the liberties of the people of the Basque country are sworn and reaffirmed.
It is market day, April 1937. The townsfolk are going about their quiet business as usual…until there comes the sound of approaching aircraft: German Heinkel-51s, followed by Junker-52s, fighter planes and bombers, about to launch history’s first blitzkrieg on a defenceless population.
So Will travels to London where he meets a group of young men committed to the Republican cause. Together they embark on a perilous journey through France in a van they call Pegasus, carrying smuggled guns and ammunition. They narrowly escape the clutches of the French authorities and finally reach the Spanish border.
Will and his comrades are soon in combat, first in the freezing, rat-infested trenches of the Aragon front, then in defence of supply routes vital to the failing Republican cause at Jarama. Will meets Molly, a volunteer nurse. They are captured by Moroccan troops serving under General Franco. Together they seize a chance to escape north, reaching Guernica, a small market town as yet untouched by war.
Yet Guernica’s symbolic significance is far greater than its physical size, for it is the home of the Freedom Tree, a sacred oak under whose branches the liberties of the people of the Basque country are sworn and reaffirmed.
It is market day, April 1937. The townsfolk are going about their quiet business as usual…until there comes the sound of approaching aircraft: German Heinkel-51s, followed by Junker-52s, fighter planes and bombers, about to launch history’s first blitzkrieg on a defenceless population.
