Falange Española de las JONS the Second Spanish Republic. Expanding rapidly from several thousand to several hundred thousand members, the Falange's male membership was accompanied by a female auxiliary, the "Sección Femenina". Led by José Antonio's sister Pilar, this latter subsidiary organization claimed more than a half million members by the end of the Civil War and provided nursing and support services for the Nationalist forces. The command of the party rested upon Manuel Hedilla as many of the first generation leaders were dead or incarcerated by the Republicans. Among them was José Antonio Primo de Rivera, who was a Government prisoner. As a result,
José María Lamamié de Clairac new confederation was clear, if generally denied." Though Clairac was initially an enthusiastic supporter of the dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera (1923–30), Primo forfeited much conservative and clerical support when in November 1926 he offered the socialist union Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT) a leading position in the reorganisation of labour relations. In common with many of those who were to emerge as leading figures on the Catholic right during the Second Republic, Clairac gained considerable political experience under Primo, sitting as a representative for the province of Salamanca in the dictator's National Assembly. As republicanism gained ground Clairac was