| Original caption: “General Bernard L. Montgomery watches his tanks move up.” Lieutenant General Bernard L. Montgomery (November 17, 1887 – March 24, 1976), General Officer Commanding 8th Army, watches the beginning of the Nazi German retreat from El Alamein from the turret of his Grant II M3A5 Tank. With him is Major John Poston (1919 – April 21, 1945) Montgomery’s Aide-de-Camp. He is wearing his famous tank beret. The distinctive black Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) beret, synonymous with the image of Montgomery during World War II, is believed to have been adopted as an item of his personal dress after being gifted 1 by the driver of his command tank, Sergeant James “Jock” Fraser (???? – ????), during the Battle of El Alamein in October 1942 (this 1st beret is in the collection of the Tank Museum in Bovington). Believing that it was important for him to visually stand out to those under his command, Montgomery was eager to avoid wearing the standard peaked Service Dress cap worn by most general officers, and had previously worn an Australian-style slouch out before settling on the black RTR beret, wearing this for the remainder of the war and the immediate post-war period. Montgomery recalled on September 29, 1945, when he presented his beret to the Bovington Tank Museum, “This beret was given to me by a Sergeant in the RTR, the NCO in command of my tank during the Battle of Alamein in October 1942. It was worn by me from Alamein to Tunis when it was so dirty that I got a new one; it was the Sgt’s own beret. I added my General’s badge to it and have worn the black beret with two badges ever since…” The Grant II (American M3A5) was powered by dual General Motors diesel 375 horsepower engines. It featured a cast upper turret with extra radios in place of a dummy 37 millimeter (1.47-inch) gun and a riveted hull with a 75 millimeter (3 inch) main gun in a sponson. Named “Monty,” after the General, this Grant II was assigned to 8th Army’s Tactical Headquarters Company. While most of 8th Army upgraded to the superior M4 Sherman and other tanks, Montgomery continued to use “Monty” throughout the war. It was photographed in Italy on September 27, 1944; and at the Schonbrunn Palace, British Forces headquarters in Austria on August 14, 1946. It was “Monty’s wish” that the tank should be handed back to his old Regiment, the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, and in 1948 it was brought from Austria to England and became gate guardian at Budbrooke Barracks outside Warwick. It was later displayed at the Depot of the Queen’s Division at Bassingbourn which the Royal Regiment joined in 1968. Completely restored in 1985 – 1988 by volunteers at the Army’s Armored Vehicle Depot at Ludgershall, Hampshire it was handed over to the Imperial War Museum on June 6, 1988. Photo by umber 1 Film and Photo Section General Officer Commanding Captain Geoffrey Keating (August 25, 1914 – January 30, 1981), Number 2 Army Film and Photography Unit, 8th Army. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0718.jpg |
| Image Size | 684.87 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2908 x 2247 |
| Photographer | Geoffrey John Keating |
| Photographer Title | Number One United Kingdom Royal Army Film and Photo Section, Army Film and Photographic Unit |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | November 5, 1942 |
| Location | |
| City | El Alamein |
| State or Province | Matrouh |
| Country | Egypt |
| Archive | Imperial War Museum |
| Record Number | E 18980 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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