Monty's return: Pictures emerge of Field Marshal Montgomery visiting pivotal El Alamein battlefield 25 years after he defeated the Germans
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•Field Marshal Montgomery was 80 when the anniversary visit was arranged
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•The British general led an army of 200,000 to victory in the 1942 battle
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•Photos expected to fetch £8,000 when they are auctioned tomorrow
By Rob Cooper
PUBLISHED: 13:13, 20 May 2013 | UPDATED: 13:26, 20 May 2013
Photographs of British war hero Field Marshal Montgomery returning to the scene of his greatest victory 25 years later have emerged for sale.
The candid images show Montgomery as an old man setting foot at El Alamein in Egypt to mark the anniversary of the Allies' first major triumph against Germans in World War Two.
The famous British general, affectionately known as Monty, led an army of more than 200,000 in 1942 and emerged victorious.
Historic trip: Field Marshal Montgomery, aged 80, climbs into a Wessex helicopter as he returns to El Alamein, in Egypt, in 1967, 25 years after the famous World War II battle
Famous return: Field Marshal Montgomery led an army of 200,000 in the battle in 1942. The pictures were taken by acclaimed war photographer Don McCullin
The victory marked a major turning point of the war as it revived moral in the flagging troops.
In 1967 Montgomery, then aged 80, returned to the desert to visit the scene of the Battle of El Alamein and pay his respects to the thousands of men who died.
His trip was covered in a magazine article at the time and appeared in a book about the battle.
Decorated: Field Marshal Montgomery, who died in 1980
A selection of the photos of him taken by acclaimed war photographer Don McCullin have surfaced 46 years after the moving visit.
The images portray Montgomery as an elderly man meeting the top brass of the Egyptian Army while surrounded by a scrum of photographers.
He is also seen having to be helped into a Wessex helicopter.
The photos are part of an archive belonging to the late journalist Derek Jewell, organiser of the Alamein trip, which also includes a series of letters from the war general and a signed copy of his memoirs.
In the correspondence, Montgomery thanks Jewell for organising the trip, stating 'the way you carried out the preliminary reconnaissance, and then organised and controlled the actual visit, was beyond all praise'.
A personal note to Jewell in the front of Montgomery's memoirs said he was 'a chief of staff par excellence under such conditions' and is signed 'Montgomery of Alamein'.
The collection was passed down through Jewell's family following his death in 1985. It is expected to fetch £8,000 when it goes under the hammer at auction tomorrow.
John Black, of auctioneers Sworders of Essex, said: 'To mark the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Alamein, Derek Jewell organised for Field Marshal Montgomery to return to the site of the battle.
'It was no mean feat - by that point Monty was a frail old man. He was incredibly stubborn and he always liked to have his own way.
BATTLE OF EL ALAMEIN: TURNING POINT IN WORLD WAR II
Battle: An explosion at El Alamein whiche ended in the victory of the British Eighth Army commanded by Montgomery over Rommel's Afrika Korps. It proved to be the turning point in the war in Africa
The Battle of El Alamein was widely hailed as one of the turning points in the Second World War.
More than 4,000 Allied servicemen lost their lives and almost 9,000 were wounded in the combat that saw General Sir Bernard Montgomery's troops defeat German general Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps.
Under the command of Montgomery, nearly 200,000 British, Australian, New Zealand, South African, British Indian, Free French and Greek forces defeated the Axis powers.
At the time of the battle, which began on October 23, 1942 and ended on November 4, the Allies were fighting to keep their vital supply lines open from the Mediterranean to the East.
Rommel had inflicted heavy defeats on Allied forces in Africa, forcing them back to the village of El Alamein, about 60 miles west of Alexandria.
Finally, on October 23 General Montgomery ordered a counter-attack with almost 900 guns levelled at the German positions to be discharged at once.
While previously the Suez Canal was threatened, and with it Allied access to the rich oilfields of the Middle East, now the Allies were able to press their advantage and eventually push the Germans and Italians out of Africa.
Recalling the importance of the Allied victory at the Battle of El Alamein, Sir Winston Churchill said: 'Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat.'
The Battle of Stalingrad between the Germans and the Soviets in 1942-43, and the Battle of Midway between the US and Japan, are also regarded as key turning points in the war.
Famous British General: Field Marshal Montgomery shakes hands with Winston Churchill in London after the war
Poignant return: The candid images show Montgomery as an old man setting foot at El Alamein in Egypt to mark the anniversary of the Allies' first major triumph against Germans in World War Two
Emotional return: FM Montgomery (left) with Derek Jewell in El Alamein in 1967
War hero: A signed picture of Field Marshal Montgomery which is set to go under the hammer at auction
Elderly: Field Marshal Montgomery is helped into his helicopter after returning to the scene of his greatest victory at the age of 80
Handwritten note: This hand written two-page note was produced by Field Marshal Montgomery to coincide with his 1967 trip back to the battlefield. It is part of the consignment of pictures and documents which are being auctioned tomorrow. The whole lot is expected to fetch £8,000
Note: FM Montgomery's leter to Derek Jewell about his visit back to the battlefield
Under the hammer: Another letter written by FM Montgomery in 1967 about his visit back to the site where the battle was fought
'But he and Jewell got on incredibly well and the trip to Alamein started a very dear friendship between them.
'War photographer Don McCullin was the photographer assigned to capture the visit on camera.
'The photos that came out of the trip are quiet poignant. After they returned, Monty wrote a lovely letter to Derek thanking him for organising the trip.
'This collection provides a moving snapshot of one of Britain's best loved war heroes.'
After El Alamein, Montgomery went on to help mastermind the D-Day invasion in Normandy in June 1944. He died in March 1976 in Alton, Hants, aged 88.
Bloody battle: British soldiers in action at El Alamein, in Egypt, in 1942. The famous British victory was a major turning point in World War II
Confrontation: A German Panzer III crewman lifts his hands in surrender to an advancing British soldier during the battle of El Alamein
War planning: The Allied Supreme Command in Conference during the war. Pictured, left to right, is Air Chief Marshall Tedder, General Eisenhower and Field Marshall Montgomery
Modern memorial: British solders stand guard near wreaths in October 2002 in the El-Alamein cemetery as they marked the 60th anniversary
Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd
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