KIA: Killed in action

MIA: Missing in action

WIA: Wounded in action

POW: Prisoner of war

Aside from the more obvious references to Spanish place names and sites of battles and campaigns, some of the entries mention "The Retreats." The Retreats are shorthand in a number of English-language histories of the International Brigades for a series of engagements of the Mac Paps and others in 1938. They were a military disaster, as the war continued to tip in the Nationalists’ favour.

Some ranks are recorded in Spanish, including Soldato, Cabo, Sargento, Teniente, which mean Private, Corporal, Sergeant, and Lieutenant respectively.

The distinction between Commander and Company Commander is also worth noting. Various volunteers in our database were appointed Company Commanders, as each battalion contained a number of companies, while Edward Cecil Smith was the only Canadian who became a permanent commander of an battalion.