12-18-2020 01:54 PM
I'm wondering if the second guy from the right is Monty Montgomery? The others?
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12-20-2020 01:41 PM - edited 12-20-2020 01:46 PM
Here's a couple of pictures of Montgomery showing the same ribbon bars, both dated 1943.
Detail of the ribbons and rank insignia in colour:
Here is the identification for the ribbons based on my research. I also cross-referenced with other pictures that show him at a later date or more formal occasions, when he was wearing more ribbons. I organized these the way they are being worn above, although I had to piece these together from separate pictures and the scale may not be perfect.
In the black & white photo above, you can see that some of the ribbon colours are almost invisible against his uniform. This also shows how the ribbons are correctly worn, side by side in bands the width of the pocket and centered above the pocket, in order of precedence from left to right and top down. If there is an incomplete row, it is to be worn at the top and centered. In this case, that is the ribbon for his knighthood, which is the highest precedence.
Here's the closeup from Namele's picture:
You can only see at most half of the ribbons because of the black curved shape on the right (which is the sleeve of the lady beside him). The black shape reaches the breast-pocket button, which is in the middle of the pocket. So her sleeve is blocking the ribbons on the right side of his ribbon bars.
Also, some of the bars are not showing because they are blending into his uniform in the B&W picture. I think that the bright/white shape could be the one of the lighter coloured ribbons reflecting the flash. Most of the bottom row is not showing up because it's blending in ... either that, or the bottom row is not complete, which is not the correct way to wear them. It doesn't seem likely that a high-ranking officer would be seen in public with the ribbons worn incorrectly.
I don't think that it's possible to read the ribbons accurately in this picture, because it's just not clear enough and you can't see enough of the ribbons in this candid picture. But I don't think that it's inconsistent with Montgomery's ribbons, especially considering how they are showing up in the carefully posed B&W portrait photos.
12-18-2020 02:07 PM
@namele365 You have 2 American Officers on the left and 2 British officers on the right. The one is Field Marshall Bernard Law Montgomery and the one with the glasses is one of his chief of staff. The American officer in the center would be a fairly high ranking general ... not sure which one.
12-18-2020 02:17 PM
That's what I suspected. Thanks 🙂
12-18-2020 02:18 PM
@namele365 wrote:That's what I suspected. Thanks 🙂
It's a good starting point ...
12-18-2020 03:23 PM
He looks very fresh-faced for Montgomery:
https://www.junobeach.org/canada-in-wwii/articles/field-marshal-bernard-montgomery/
12-18-2020 03:27 PM
12-18-2020 03:34 PM
This is Monty, note the balding and more ribbons.
12-18-2020 03:34 PM - edited 12-18-2020 03:36 PM
12-18-2020 03:42 PM - edited 12-18-2020 03:44 PM
12-18-2020 06:46 PM
12-18-2020 07:02 PM - edited 12-18-2020 07:04 PM
But your studio portrait is dated 1915, and the OP's photo is 1940s. I'm pretty sure it isn't him.
12-18-2020 07:09 PM - edited 12-18-2020 07:13 PM
Just throwing out a possibility ... could the 3rd guy from the left be General Dwight D. Eisenhower? The insignia on his epaulettes appears to match this photo of Eisenhower from 1942. Eisenhower and Montgomery did collaborate during the war in Europe around that time. Eisenhower was promoted to Major General (2-Star General) in Feb. 1942. I will admit that the guy in Namele's picture looks younger, but he does have two stars on his shoulders.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_career_of_Dwight_D._Eisenhower
Montgomery in Nov 1942, in a tank in the field, so possibly not looking so fresh as when he went out on the town with colleagues and their wives.
12-18-2020 07:19 PM
@lacemaker3 wrote:
Just throwing out a possibility ... could the 3rd guy from the left be General Dwight D. Eisenhower?
No.
(Terse reply only because I woke up and now can't get back to sleep )
12-18-2020 07:27 PM
It wasn't easy to find a dated picture of Montgomery without a hat from the right time period. This picture (with about the right amount of hair) was taken shortly after he was appointed to command the Eighth Army in Egypt, which was 1942-1943.
12-18-2020 07:32 PM
OK, now I am wavering.