Bernard Montgomery
Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976) was one of Britain's top commnaders in the Second World War (1939-45). He famously defeated Erwin Rommel (1891-1944) at the Second Battle of El Alamein in North Africa in November 1942. Known for his cautious thoroughness and eccentric uniform, the national hero was also involved in the invasion of Italy, the Normandy landings, and the race to the Rhine.
Early Life
Bernard Law Montgomery was born on 17 November 1887 in Kennington, London. Bernard's father, Henry, was an Irish Protestant clergyman, and his grandfather had been a dean of Canterbury. Bernard's mother, Maud, was the daughter of the writer Dean Farrar. With eight siblings, Bernard had plenty of time to escape parental supervision and get up to mischief. He recalled his mother often repeatedly saying "Go and find out what Bernard is doing and tell him to stop it" (Memoirs, 17). As Bernard's father was appointed bishop of Tasmania, the family moved there in 1889, Bernard only returning to England in 1901. Graduating from the Sandhurst military academy in 1908, Bernard joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment where he served in India, which included several years on the volatile North West Frontier. He served his country in Europe in the First World War (1914-18), receiving the Distinguished Service Order at the First Battle of Ypres but suffering an injury that had him sent home to a hospital in England. Montgomery reached the rank of brigade major and during the rest of the contfict, he served the Chiefs of Staff, far from the madness of the trenches.
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