British historian and canon on Spanish Civil War, Lord Hugh Thomas, dies aged 85

Lord Hugh Thomas, who lived in London, was a celebrated historian specialising in Spain and, for the past 23 years, has been a member of the Spanish Royal History Academy – a position that can only be held via nomination and based upon merit.

Lord Thomas' most-famous work is The Spanish Civil War, published in two volumes in 1961 and considered the first balanced account of the conflict which tore the nation apart between 1936 and 1939, as well as the most detailed and best-explained to date.

This landmark classic, hailed as a canon on the subject, was not published in Spain in translation until 41 years ago after the death of dictator General Franco, since any text or artwork which questioned the despotic leader was banned.

As well as working as a professor at Sandhurst Royal Academy and Reading University in the UK, Hugh Thomas held the Order of Isabel the Catholic and the Great Cross of the Order of Alfonso X The Wise – two prestigious awards given to him by Spain for his ground-breaking studies.

Along with historians and authors Raymond Carr and Paul Preston, Lord Thomas was one of a group of specialists on Spain and, in particular, the Second Republic and the Civil War.

Hugh later expanded into the Modernist era and the Spanish Empire, publishing the trilogy The Spanish Empire: From Columbus to Magallanes (2006), The Spanish Empire of Carlos V (2010) and Felipe II: A man of the world (2013).

Other major works written by Lord Thomas include Cuba: The fight for freedom (1971); The conquering of México (2007), Barreiros: The engine of Spain (2007) and Goya: May 3, 1808 (2008).