FAMOUS for his victory at the Battle of El Alamein in November 1943, Montgomery - or Monty - was the most well-known British general of the Second World War.

He was educated at St Paul's School and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and commissioned into the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in 1908. Severely wounded early in the First World War he spent the rest of war as a staff officer.

Winston Churchill was convinced that Montgomery's victory over the Germans and Italians at the Battle of El Alamein marked the turning point of the Second World War.

Montgomery went on to command the 8th Army in the subsequent Allied campaigns in Sicily and then on the Italian mainland. He was recalled to the UK to take part in the planning of Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy.

While masterminding the D-Day landings Montgomery was a regular at Southwick Brewhouse in Southwick village near Fareham.

During the Normandy landings and for several months afterwards, Montgomery commanded all Allied troops in France before being promoted to Field Marshal.

After the war, he was created a Knight of the Garter and 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein. He commanded the British Army of the Rhine and served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff from 1946 to 1948. From 1948 to 1951 he was chairman of the permanent defence organisation of the Western European Union. In 1951 he became deputy commander of the Supreme Headquarters of NATO, serving for seven years.

Name: Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery Occupation: Second World War General Date of Birth: November 17, 1887 DIED: March 24, 1976 local link: Lived and died in Alton. Buried in Binsted churchyard.