Field Marshal Montgomery’s beret goes on sale for £30,000

The distinctive black beret was perched on Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery’s head as he guided Allied forces toward victory in Germany in 1945.

Now, the iconic Second World War item is heading to auction with an estimated price of £30,000.

Montgomery, widely known as ‘Monty’, began wearing the Royal Tank Regiment’s beret while commanding the Eighth Army in North Africa in 1942.

He kept the recognisable headwear throughout the Allied campaign and wore it during the advance into Germany at the end of the war.

Montgomery placed his General Officer’s badge beside the regiment’s tank insignia, explaining that the unusual design helped his troops identify him on the battlefield.

The wartime commander later presented the beret to an American friend, after which it became part of a private collection.

The beret will be sold alongside Montgomery’s wartime messages to troops at RR Auction in Boston, Massachusetts, on November 19. The auction house described it as Montgomery’s ‘instantly recognisable visual signature’.

Montgomery died peacefully in his sleep in 1976, aged 88, at his home in Alton, Hampshire.

Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery’s Second World War black beret (pictured) is up for auction priced at £30,000

Field Marshal Montgomery (left) and Winston Churchill (right) at the El Alamein Reunion, a concert for 5,000 soldiers who fought in the pivotal 1942 World War II desert victory

An RR Auction spokesperson said: ‘Few items of military clothing became so closely linked to one commander as Montgomery’s black beret, complete with its two badges.

‘Much like Napoleon’s bicorne, General MacArthur’s peaked cap or Moshe Dayan’s eye patch, it became an unmistakable symbol of the man who wore it.

‘Montgomery adopted the Royal Tank Regiment’s black beret while leading the Eighth Army in North Africa in 1942, placing his General Officer’s badge alongside the regiment’s tank emblem.

‘He soon understood its practical value in combat, later recalling that its distinctive appearance enabled his soldiers to recognise his presence.

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‘He continued wearing the double-badged beret throughout the campaigns that followed. Photographs of Montgomery in North Africa, Normandy and across Europe ultimately made it inseparable from his wartime image.’

A separate lot in the auction will feature dozens of wartime messages Montgomery issued to troops serving with the Eighth Army and 21 Army Group before some of the conflict’s most important battles.

Among them is a message sent before the Battle of El Alamein in October 1942, in which Montgomery wrote: ‘We are ready now.

‘The battle which is now about to begin will be one of the decisive battles of history. It will be the turning point of the war.’

One day before D-Day, Montgomery delivered another stirring message to his men: ‘The time has come to deal the enemy a terrific blow in Western Europe.

‘The blow will be struck by the combined sea, land, and air forces of the Allies – together constituting one great Allied team, under the supreme command of General Eisenhower.

‘On the eve of this great adventure I send to you my best wishes to every soldier in the Allied team.

‘To us is given the honour of striking a blow for freedom which will live in history; and in the better days that lie ahead men will speak with pride of our doings*

‘I want every soldier to know that I have complete confidence in the successful outcome of the operations that we are now about to begin.

‘With stout hearts, and with enthusiasm for the contest, let us go forward to victory.’

In his final wartime message, Montgomery offered an emotional farewell and tribute to the soldiers under his command: ‘This great Allied team has achieved much in war; may it achieve even more in peace.

‘It has been a privilege and an honour to command this great British Empire team in Western Europe.

‘Few commanders can have had such loyal service as you have given me. I thank each one of you from the bottom of my heart. And so let us embark on what lies ahead full of joy and optimism.

‘We have won the German war. Let us now win the peace.’