Julian Denny (OP 1960-65) has compiled a small piece on Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery (OP 1902-06), to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the passing of one of our most prominent Old Paulines. Julian says “I think this is a marvellous picture of him and Churchill during the war. Monty was obviously not concerned about being seen in his “working” clothes despite the presence of a distinguished visitor!”. We thank Julian for this fascinating article and for sharing it with us:
I think there’s little doubt that Monty was one of the most successful battlefield commanders of the Second World War – Alamein, Sicilly and D-Day in particular.
An important characteristic of Monty’s was undoubtedly his care for the wellbeing of his troops; having seen at first hand, as a young officer (he was badly wounded) , the human devastation of the First World War. This led to his well-known cautious approach and meticulous planning. It also led to a clash with the Americans, Patton in particular. Whilst his men worshipped him, the Americans loathed him. I don’t think he was overly worried about the latter. A great army commander but by no means a great diplomat, particularly when it came to dealing with Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley & co.
There is no doubt that Montgomery was very egotistical, an aspect which Churchill recognised and was at times irritated by, especially when it came to upsetting the key relationship with the Americans. Churchill wisely overlooked this due to Monty’s abilities as a general. While he annoyed the Americans, Monty had the full confidence of not only Churchill but possibly more importantly of Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke who was chief of the armed forces and Churchill’s right hand man throughout the war.
In his inimitable way Churchill had this to say when Monty was first appointed to lead the British Army against Rommel in the desert
“If he is disagreeable to those about him, he is also disagreeable to the enemy. I am confident that the new arrangement will work well.”
Two of my relatives served under Monty during the war. My uncle, a dermatologist, was on Monty’s staff with 21st Army Group during the Normandy campaign, for which involvement he was awarded an OBE. When I asked him about Monty he was fulsome in his all-round praise.
My father-in-law was an officer in the South African Army during the desert campaign and then into Italy and beyond. During this time he was seconded to the British 8th Army under Monty and was at Alamein. Once again he had nothing but praise for Monty’s leadership and ability as a battlefield commander.
My personal interest in Monty is that I went to the same school in London, St Paul’s, as he had done, many years before I hasten to add! In those post war years Monty was still very much an iconic figure – not least at the school.
In advance of D-Day in 1944, Monty set up his headquarters at St Paul’s School where all the planning for the invasion, or at least a very large part of it, took place. In attendance during this phase were all the leading characters including, of course, General Eisenhower the Supreme Allied Commander, all the other military top brass and on occasion Churchill and King George VI. My uncle was there too. The large map of Western Europe, used in the planning was still on display when I was at the school. Red marks indicating the potential landing sites were clearly visible. The map is still there in the School’s Montgomery Room, having recently been refurbished thanks to financial support from The Old Pauline Club.
