2. The Military

When I was a child Ferrol was full of soldiers and sailors doing their compulsory military service (year 1952 newsreel in Ferrol). The military installations of Ferrol occupied around 20% of the real estate available. There were a fair number of parades held every year on the road that girded the protective wall of the shipyard. I enjoyed watching them until I grew old enough to realize that the unverified stories of how tough military service was on most conscripts might apply to me soon. One such story held that army sergeants who had killed a recruit could be identified easily because they were forced to wear a black armband. Incongruously many a serviceman attended yearly reunion banquets to celebrate with other comrades-in-arms the "good old times" in the barracks.

At the start of every year Town Hall would publish the names of 20-year-old males slated for compulsory military service. Local newspapers published the list and the citizenry was asked to snitch on the whereabouts of no-shows. Those listed had until January 11 to report to the local draft office or be suspected of draft evasion. La Voz de Galicia of Saturday January 23, 1954, published a roster of 49 young men in Ferrol who had not complied with the draft notice. Some might have emigrated without the military having been notified.

A measure of the size of the Armed Forces stationed in Ferrol was the yearly victory parade celebrating the Nationalist victory over the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War. The parade of the year 1954 comprised four companies of sailors from the fleet, two companies from the maritime department corps, two companies of naval infantry, two companies of regular infantry and one battery of the coast artillery corps. Note: The term "battery of artillery" may refer to a group of guns or to a formation of men equivalent to one company (End of Note). A company on parade had 14 rows of nine men plus four leading officers, i.e. 130 men. Therefore ten companies would equal 1,300 men. The troops in the parade of 1955 were three companies of sailors, a battalion of naval infantry, a company of regular infantry and a battery of the coast artillery corps. If the overall number of men was the same both years it would imply that a battalion equaled six companies, i.e. 6 × 130 men = 780 men. Both years the apprentices' marching band closed the parade, the crowds watching were "very numerous" and applauded the participants heartily. The parade of the year 1959 had two battalions from the maritime department corps, a battalion of sailors from the fleet, a battalion of regular infantry, a battery of the coast artillery corps and a set of 88/56 anti-aircraft guns.

Another measure of the size of the Armed Forces stationed in Ferrol was the number of troops lining the route of the yearly Corpus Christi procession (year 1957 newsreel in Toledo). Children of every parish took part in this procession along with the "children of Empresa Nacional Bazán," Town Hall in full, army commanders, artillery cadets, navy commanders, fleet commanders and the engineers of the shipyard. Armed soldiers and sailors lined the route and took their cap or helmet off, set their right knee down on the pavement and tilted their firearm as the monstrance carrying the Sacred Host passed them by. At the conclusion of the procession the troops staged a parade along the ring road. The itinerary of the procession of the year 1954 was covered by four battalions, one Army and three Navy, i.e. 4 × 780 men = 3,120 men.

A measure of the size of the fleet berthed at Ferrol is given by two news items that appeared in La Voz de Galicia during the month of September, 1954. On the 6th four destroyers departed and on the 15th a battle group of two cruisers escorted by four destroyers, a minelayer, a minesweeper and a torpedo ship sailed away.

From 1952 to 1961 the naval base was home to the First and Fourth Divisions of the Fleet with a total of two cruisers, six destroyers and many escort vessels.

From 1961 to 1965 Ferrol was home to the Naval Group of the North, a bureaucratic renaming which left the operational importance of the naval base unchanged.

The number of foreign military visits to the city increased with time. In the year 1954 the city welcomed U.S. Navy commissions on March 3, April 21 and September 2, an Italian mission on April 22, the Portuguese Defence Minister on July 26, a Dominican Navy division on September 21 and the French frigate L'Aventure on November 13. In the year 1955 it welcomed two separate American commissions, the first one between March 1-4 with at least 10 engineers on the roster, the second one on August 10. In addition an Egyptian military mission arrived on October 15. The French "corvette" Le Boulonnais arrived at 9:00 A.M. on June 22 and lingered for a 5-day visit. On July 7 USS Lewis Hancock and USS McGowan entered port at 1:00 PM to a very cordial welcome. "Two Spanish ships saluted the new arrivals with salvoes." The pair came and went as they pleased for several weeks. They were followed by USS Daly and USS Smalley on September 26.