According to her autobiography "Working Partnership" (1958), it was at the prompting of Ellen Wilkinson that in April 1937 she, Eleanor Rathbone, and Wilkinson went to Spain to observe the effects of the Spanish Civil War. In Valencia, Barcelona and Madrid she saw the impact of Luftwaffe bombing on behalf of the Nationalists, visited prisoners of war held by the Republicans and considered the impact of the conflict on women and children, in particular. Her book "Searchlight on Spain" resulted from the involvement, and her support for the Republican side in the conflict led to her being nicknamed by some the Red Duchess.