Felipe Lorenzo Famoso diary

Diary covering the career of Felipe Lorenzo Famoso, a Spanish soldier in Morocco and Spain, from 1923-1949.

The diary begins in Morocco, where Famoso describes his drill routine and forced marches. Famoso also describes seeing a dead man in a ditch and saving a man who threw himself into the sea. He also includes several short news articles that report on his activities, and he expands upon them in the diary. The early portions of the diary include monthly entries, and at the end of each year, Famoso signs the journal with his name and rank.

Famoso subsequently describes returning from Morocco to Spain and serving as a policeman in Huelva, where he was also promoted to corporal. In 1934, Famoso describes the Socialists agitating in Asturias and the north Spanish provinces and the army’s intervention. Famoso then joins the Nationalists in Arache. The diary entries subsequently become sparser, and Famoso’s entries are often undated. During this period, Famoso refers to the extreme left wing, radicals, and Marxists, and notes that the government has cut phone lines. Famoso also writes of executing people, his capture by the militia, and his near execution, which was avoided when the militia that seized him got drunk and forgot about him. Famoso was released by the militia near the town of Redondo by the Reds and remained there after the war. Famoso became a sergeant in 1938, a captain of the Civil Guard in Pilas (Sevilla), a brigada in 1941, and a lieutenant in 1947.