Island the Spanish sailor recalled (4)
I believe the answer is:
elba
'island' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'the spanish sailor recalled' is the wordplay.
'the spanish' becomes 'el'.
'sailor' becomes 'ab' (abbreviation for able seaman).
'recalled' says the letters should be written backwards.
'ab' in reverse letter order is 'ba'.
'el'+'ba'='ELBA'
(Other definitions for elba that I've seen before include "Abel (anag)" , "Exile isle for Napoleon" , "Bale out of the Mediterranean island" , "Napoleonic prison" , "Napoleon's Mediterranean exile island" .)