Monty relaxing with Rommel (his pet dog) and laughing at George Formby: WWII snaps show hero of El Alamein on and off-duty



200 black and white snaps - set for auction - were amassed by Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery’s assistant, Captain Noel Chavasse

Chavasse was at Monty's side as Allies swept towards Germany

Other photos show briefing with generals on stools by haystack; Monty discussing battle plans with Mountbatten; and the 'Beast of Belsen'



Archive includes original surrender document to signal end of war in Europe



An archive of photos that capture Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery in more informal moments in the final months of the Second World War has been discovered.



About 200 black and white snaps were either taken or amassed by the British Army chief’s assistant who was by his side as the Allies swept towards Germany.



They include one of Winston Churchill seated next to ‘Monty’ stroking the war hero's pet spaniel dog, whom he named Rommel after his famous German arch-rival general.

Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery plays with Rommel his spaniel (right) and a friendly fox terrier in the final months of the Second World War

Winston Churchill pays a visit to Monty (and Rommel) at his HQ in Chateau Creully, Normandy in August 1944

The hero of El Alamein roars with laughter as he watches a performance by wartime comedian George Formby with hundreds of troops seated alongside him in France

Liberated French children meet Monty. About 200 black and white snaps were either taken or amassed by the British Army chief's assistant - Captain Noel Chavasse - who was by his side as the Allies swept towards Germany

Montgomery (right) discusses battle plans with Lord Louis Mountbatten

There is an image of Montgomery holding a briefing with US general Omar Bradley and British general Sir Miles Dempsey perched on stools next to a haystack in a field in northern France.



Another shows the hero of El Alamein roaring with laughter as he watches a performance by wartime comedian George Formby with hundreds of troops seated alongside him.

His adjutant officer, Captain Noel Chavasse, also retained important and historic documents which make up his archive.



One is what was intended to be the original surrender document to be signed by the Allied and German high command to signal the end of the war in Europe.

Montgomery with U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower (centre) and Air Chief Marshall Sir Arthur Tedder in France

Monty, British General Sir Miles Dempsey (third right) and US general Omar Bradley (left) have a council of war by a haystack in northern France, August 21, 1944

The military strategists huddle by the haystack. The stunning archive has been in the Chavasse family since the adjutant officer brought it back from the war

Monty stops to chat with troops. Steven Bosley, of Bosley's auctioneers of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, said: 'This is a very important archive - one you could argue that should be in the Imperial War Museum'

Monty rolls on through the liberated low countries in the cold winter of 1944

The piece of paper had to be binned after Montgomery made a mistake with the date, which he had to cross out, and so a copy of the document was used instead.



The original should have been thrown away but was kept by Capt Chavasse.



Another item is Capt Chavasse’s pass to enter the notorious Belsen concentration camp in northern Germany days after it had been liberated.



The piece of paper states that the officer had been ‘dusted’ before entering the camp.



Captain Noel Chavasse, an Adjutant Officer on Field Marshall Montgomery's staff during the war, who amassed the archive and took some of the snaps

Monty (second left) meets the surrendering German high command on windswept Luneburg Heath in northern Germany in May 1945

Montgomery on Luneburg Heath. The archive is estimated to sell for £4,000 at auction

Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg surrendering the German forces in Monty's tent on May 4, 1945

German General Eberhard Kinzel also signed the surrender document

Field Marshal Montgomery's penstroke signals an end to the war in Europe

News of the German surrender is sent by a Royal Signals Regiment sergeant from Luneburg Heath

Capt Chavasse was the nephew of First World War hero Capt Noel Chavasse, one of only three people to have been awarded the Victoria Cross twice.

The stunning archive has been in the Chavasse family since the adjutant officer brought it back from the war.



His daughter, who lives in Berkshire, has now put it up for sale at auction.

Capt Chavasse's photo of the German surrender document. It was intended as the original one to be signed by the Allied and German high command - but it had to be binned after Montgomery made a mistake with the date, which he had to cross out, and so a copy of the document was used instead

Monty's official announcement - initialled by him - after the German surrender

King George VI knights Monty's second in command General Dempsey in northern France, 1944 - the first person since Agincourt to be knighted on the battlefield

The king is seen with Monty and a friendly fox terrier

EL ALAMEIN: THE TURNING POINT OF WORLD WAR TWO

The Battle of El Alamein was widely hailed as the turning point 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.'



Steven Bosley, of Bosley’s auctioneers of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, said: 'This is a very important archive - one you could argue that should be in the Imperial War Museum.



'A lot of this material hasn’t been seen before, including some of the photographs.

'Captain Chavasse was very close to Montgomery and being in that privileged position enabled him to get his hands on these historic documents and photos.'

Another item Capt Chavasse kept as a memento is the menu for a luxury dinner Montgomery enjoyed in an officer’s mess in February 1945.

While the hundreds of thousands of soldiers had to make do with army rations, the British commander-in-chief dined on creme of tomato soup, poached bream in a hollandaise sauce, roast chicken, fruit salad and cream and coffee.



Some of the other photos that are contained in three large albums show King George VI patting Montgomery’s other pet dog during a visit of the troops.



Another depicts the field marshal looking on as Sir Miles Dempsey is knighted by the King, the first person since Agincourt to be knighted on the battlefield.



There is another showing Montgomery discussing battle plans with Lord Louis Mountbatten.



And there is one chilling picture of Josef Kramer, the so-called Beast of Belsen, before he was led away and arrested for war crimes.



There is also a selection of photographs highlighting the German surrender to Montgomery at Luneburg Heath in northern Germany.



The archive is estimated to sell for £4,000 at the auction tomorrow.

Another item Capt. Chavasse kept as a memento is the menu for a luxury dinner Montgomery enjoyed in an officer's mess in February 1945 after the German surrender

The war hero tours a bombed-out French town in Normandy

The 'Beast of Belsen' - captured SS comander Josef Kramer - in the Belsen concentration camp in northwestern Germany in 1945

An inmate survivor of the Nazi concentration camp gives a weary smile following the liberation of Belsen

Capt. Chavasse's military pass into the horrors of Belsen concentration camp

Monty's faithful companion, Rommel the spaniel died in the winter of 1944; Noel Chavasse's (pictured) daughter, who lives in Berkshire, has now put her father's archive up for sale