Alternate name(s):
William Kardash; Arthur Edmonds; Jose Revillo; Edmunds; Blanco
Nickname:
Bill
Date of birth:
Monday, 10 June 1912
Marital status:
single, later married Mary Kostaniuk
Ethnicity/Nationality:
Canadian; Ukrainian
Profession:
farm organizer; mechanic; manager of The People's Cooperative in Winnipeg
Hometown(s):
Winnipeg, Manitoba; Hafford, Saskatchewan
Education:
worked on dad's farm since age 7
Political affiliation:
Communist Party of Canada, 1932
Approximate date arrived in Spain:
1937-05-26 arrived via Soviet Union
Unit:
3 months training on a tank at Archena; International Tank Regiment, Lieutenant
Final status:
WIA at Fuentes de Ebro when his tank was hit with a Molotov cocktail, lost a leg; Survived; Returned to Paris for hospitalization late July 1938; Returned to Canada in 1938; Went on to become a member of the Manitoba Legislature for 17 years and leader of the Labor-Progressive Party, campaigning on his service in Spain; Member of the MacPap Veterans Association; Died 17 January 1997 in Winnipeg, Manitoba
Other:
Kardash travelled to Spain from the USSR where he studied at the International Lenin School, Moscow, 1936-1937; William Kardash wrote a pamphlet about his experiences fighting in Spain, I Fought for Canada in Spain.... It was republished in an abridged edition.; Kardash worked for the radical People's Co-op in Winnipeg, which consisted of a coal yard, lumber yard, garage, two dairy plants, and other services and ran from 1928 until the 1990s.
Sources:
RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 547, ll. 22-32 (under Edmonds/Edmunds, Arthur); Opis 6, Delo 555, ll. 22-24 (ver ar gen can) and 25; NAC, M-P Collection, Cecil-Smith, V. 1, F. 16, Memoirs and Accounts of Service in Spain, Kardash, Bill, 14 pages, no date; Hoar; Liversedge; Momryk; Petrou; Hoff
