Battle memories were revived for an old soldier who fought against Facism in the Spanish Civil War when he paid tribute to more than 26million Russian casualties who fell in a later conflict.

Borehamwood pensioner, Wally Togwell, who with countless foreign volunteers joined the International Brigade to fight the Spanish dictator Franco in the 1936-39 war, remembered those who died fighting Fascism elsewhere in a special ceremony on Sunday.

The 85-year-old joined a few of the remaining International Brigaders to dedicate a memorial to the Soviet World War II dead in South London.

"It brought back a lot of memories for me. It was fantastic so many people attended to remember those that died," said the veteran soldier who served in India and Burma during the Second World War.

"There were about eight members of the brigade there -- there are not many of us left. Caskets of soil from various countries taking part were used at the site."

Mr Togwell along with other World War II veterans, local MPs, dignitaries, the Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov and Defence Secretary George Robertson, saw a small tablet mark the location of a monument which will be erected in the Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park over the next year.

The ambassadors of former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan and Belarus presented caskets of soil from their home ground which will be incorporated into the final memorial.

The former bricklayer said the ceremony brought back memories of his time as a 23-year-old fighting Franco's men during the Spanish Civil War.

He recalled it as a "baptism of fire" with bullets flying all over the place after just two weeks of training before being sent to stop Franco taking Madrid.

"This ceremony is important to me because it is honouring 26million dead Soviet citizens and I took part in the same war, although I saw action in the Far East, and of course also fought Fascism in Spain."

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