Biography

Buch Brage, Raphael (Buck, B. R.; Buck Brage, Rafael); b. July 26, 1915, NYC; Spanish American; Parents were Spanish; Family returned to Spain at some point after his birth; 4 years High School in Madrid graduated in 1931; After High School he returned to the US on September 25, 1931; January 1935 returned to Spain to attend Law School; Single; Student and Bank Employee; Spanish Socialist Party October 1936 and CP of Spain March 1938; Received Passport# 360, Madrid series, on September 5, 1931 which listed his address as 337 East 22nd Street, NYC; Arrived in Spain in July 1936 or more likely was in Country; Served with the Militia, rising to rank of Teniente; Entered the IB October 22, 1937; Served in the XV BDE, Estado Mayor, SIM; Rank Captain; Served during street fighting in Barcelona, Aragon, and Defense of Madrid, Guadalajara, Jarama, Burnete, La Granja, Belchite, The Retreats, Ebro Offensive, and Catalonia; Returned to the US on December 20, 1938 aboard the Ausonia; Married Sally Artiguez in NYC on October 22, 1940; WWII recruited to work with British Intelligence, after the US entered the war he transferred to the US Army as a translator and remained with the service until 1948; Moved to Cuba with family from 1948-1954; 1954 moved family to Madrid and worked in the film industry; 1970 retired and split time between homes in Biarritz, France and Spain where he raised doves; d. October 2018.

Source: Scope of Soviet Activity; Cadre; Inventory North Americans; XV BDE; Pay; RGASPI; Ancestry L-W Tree. Code A

Photographs: Captain Rafael Busch Brage in Spain Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 869; and below Busch Brage while serving in the Servicio de Inteligencia Militar, XV Brigade, May 1938. The 15th International Brigade Photographic Unit Photograph Collection; ALBA Photo 11; ALBA Photo number 11-0189. Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives. Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, 70 Washington Square South, New York, NY 10012, New York University Libraries