Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The uniform ribands worn by Field Marshal the Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, K.G., G.C.B., D.S.O.

The recipient’s uniform riband block comprising 39 ribands, of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath; The Distinguished Service Order; 1914 Star, with rosette; British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves; General Service Medal 1918-62 [for Palestine]; 1939-45 Star; Africa Star, with 8th Army emblem; Italy Star; France and Germany Star; War Medal 1939-45; Jubilee 1935; Coronation 1937; Coronation 1953; together with the ribands of 25 foreign Orders, Decorations, and Medals, mounted as originally sewn on a battle-dress blouse; together with a separate portrait photograph of the recipient, mounted in a glazed gilt frame, and signed ‘To the Peake family, with my best wishes. Montgomery of Alamein F.M., May 1952’, good condition (2) £600-£800

Provenance: Sold to the present vendor by Mr. J. S. Woolley, of Messrs. Gardner & Woolley Ltd., Civil and Military Tailors, Burlington Gardens, London.

Sold together with 13 hand-written letters from Field Marshal Montgomery to Mr. Woolley, the majority written from Isington Mill, Alton, regarding tailoring requirements, and all signed ‘Montgomery of Alamein’; typical extracts are:
‘Dear Mr. Woolley, I enclose another piece of the Abyssinia Medal ribbon for my battle-dress tunic.’ (22 September 1949)
‘I shall want a new suit for the coming summer. Some light material and a light colour, suitable for wear in London, Paris, and so on.’ (30 January 1951)
‘Here are the two Russian ribbons, and the Czech ribbon (11 September 1954)
‘Herewith the medal ribbon: “Lion of the Netherlands”.’ (25 September 1954)
‘I want you to make me a sash of the French Legion d’Honneur (light scarlet) and will bring my evening waistcoat in for that’ (2 March 1960).