Jordi de Montoliu was a sand engineer. In 1936 he was working on keeping the sand out of the shipping channel at the Spanish Morocco city of Larache. The Loukkos river was constantly conveying sand and gravel from the interior, and for a thousand years only shallow bottomed fishing boats could sail into the harbor. All that changed in 1911 when Spain took control of Spanish Morocco, ending centuries of rule by Moroccan pirates.
As a Freemason, he learned of Franco’s planned coup de’etat against the government of Spain. He and a friend drove all night to Cetu to warn the commander of the Spanish garrison of Franco’s plans. The commander, General Alcar, was unconcerned and told the young men, We are aware of the plot and have it under control.
Two days later, General Alcar was dead, shot by Franco’s special squad. Many Freemasons in Morocco were also rounded up and executed the day of the coup and in the three days following.
Jordi was afraid for his life and he hide in the dredge boat, in a secret space between the hull of the boat and the engine room, a space only he and the dredge engineer - a good friend - knew about. After a week, another friend was able to smuggle the outfit of an Arab fishermen onboard the dredge boat. At dawn Jordi dressed head to foot as a humble Arab fisher and got on board a small fishing boat. After pulling on nets for two hours, the small boat returned to the Arab fishing village south of the port from whence it had come. Jordi left the fish with the boat, and drove into the hills, looking for a way back to Spain.
He managed to reached Tangier - then an independent city state under the jurisdiction of 10 different countries. From Tangier Jordi was able board a ship which took him to Cadiz, still under control of the Republic, though a Fascist division was on its way to take the city. Being an engineer, Jordi was able to join the Republic Air-force, as a mechanic, and within six months, he was responsible for supervising a team of mechanics trying to keep the Republic Air-force operational during the war against Franco and his Fascist army.
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