(posted 7392 days ago)Times
January 29, 2004Monty off duty – forgotten photos reveal the private man
By Robin YoungA FORGOTTEN cache of photographs of one of Britain’s most famous war heroes is to be auctioned in Scotland. Pictures of Viscount Montgomery of Alamein normally show him in battledress and jaunty beret, but the new set show him in private, with royalty, politicians and stars.
They include the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Winston Churchill, President Eisenhower and the comedian Bob Hope, along with one of him smiling in a hospital bed with nurses standing to attention.
Dave Smith is auctioning the 38 pictures next month. He said yesterday: “No one really knew these existed. So for them to turn up out of the blue like this is truly astonishing. They were given to me by the owners of a book shop in Stonehaven who have had them in their posession for some time.”
The only clue to the original owner is a message in the album, “For Mrs Hunt from her friend Ed Murrow”. An Ed Murrow was a US broadcaster of the 1940s and 50s.
Mr Smith said: “The pictures must either have been taken by or belonged to someone who knew Montgomery well. The pictures are really informal and I just wonder who took them. Six are signed, and even Montgomery signatures alone can reach over £100.” Montgomery commanded the Eighth Army in 1942 and led a successful campaign through North Africa, Sicily and Italy.
In 1944 he spearheaded the invasion of Europe, which led to the defeat of Germany.
Off the battlefield, he went on to play an important part in the formation of Nato before his death in 1976. A room is dedicated to his memory and to memorabilia of his life at the Imperial War Museum, near his birthplace in Kennington, South London. Mr Smith, who runs an auction house in Inverbervie, Kincardineshire, where they will be sold on March 27, added: “I think there will be a lot of interest in these pictures.
“Many of them are signed and give a real insight into what the man’s personal life was like. They are certain to appeal to people interested in Montgomery. He was a fascinating character.”