Photograph showing a Civil Guard Parade on a tiered building at their barracks, Spain, 1936. This was deemed a necessary alternative to drilling on the middle of the parade ground, under the burning sun of a summer's day. The Civil Guard were a cross between a military unit and a police force, who worked to maintain peace and order in Spain in both times of war and peace. The Civil Guard took an active role in the Spanish Civil War, with guardsmen serving both the Republicans and the Nationalists.