Celebrating Hampshire Historians

Montgomery, Bernard Law (Viscount Montgomery of Alamein)

17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976

One of the greatest British soldiers of the 20th century, Field Marshal Montgomery lived for nearly thirty years at Isington Mill, near Binsted. In the immediate post-war years, he restored what was a dilapidated shell into a luxury home surrounded by lawns and gardens and, following a state funeral, he was buried at the Church of the Holy Cross in the village.

Montgomery was not a native of Hampshire, but was born in Kennington, London.  His father’s work as a Bishop took the family to Ulster and Tasmania, but Bernard eventually enlisted at Sandhurst College, graduating in 1908.  In World War I he both exhibited great bravery and was severely wounded but survived to continue his military career at the Staff College, Camberley, from which he graduated in 1921.

World War II gave him the opportunity to prove himself as a military leader, particularly in the Second Battle of El Alamein, the Allies’ first major land victory of the conflict.  He was not known for his tact and did not always follow orders, but his independent spirit has been seen by many as crucial to his success. Winston Churchill described him as ‘in defeat unbeatable, in victory unbearable’.

Sources

• The Memoirs of Field Marshal Montgomery, Bernard Montgomery (1958)

Portrait

War Office official photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Contribution to county’s history

Montgomery’s contribution to the history of the county may well lie in the future, as Isington Mill is celebrated as the place where he lived for three decades, but it is also where he wrote numerous books on the history and nature of warfare.

Relevant published works

• Montgomery, Bernard (1958) The Memoirs of Field Marshal Montgomery

• Montgomery of Alamein (1968) A History of Warfare

• Lord Montgomery (1972) A Concise History of Warfare

• Montgomery, Bernard (1980) Wellington: A Summary of the Career of the 1st Duke of Wellington and an Account of Apsley House and its Contents.

• And many other titles regarding warfare and leadership - see Steele, Zita (2020) Bernard Montgomery’s Art of War.

Critical Comments

Other Comments

A successful and highly decorated soldier who devoted much of his life to the study (and practice) of warfare and who lived out the last thirty years of his life in the county.

Contributor

Dave Allen February 2022

Key Words

Isington Mill, Binstead, warfare

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