With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the paper took an anti-Franco stance and sent three correspondents to Spain in 1936-37: Denis Weaver. see Front Page Europe Hodder and Stoughton 1942 who was captured and nearly shot before being released Arthur Koestler (to Málaga) and, later, Geoffrey Cox (to Madrid). The paper's editorial staff took an active part in campaigning for the release of Koestler, who was captured by Franco's forces at the fall of Málaga and was in imminent danger of being executed.