In our photographic archive series we've discovered pictures of a visit to Newport from Field-Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery.

The Argus is now appealing for information about the visit, which appears to be in 1948, three years after he was awarded the freedom of the city despite having no local links.

A COMMANDER who led the British Army in victory in El Alamein during the Second World War was awarded the freedom of Newport in 1945.

Field-Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery visited Newport on September 29, 1945, where he was honoured to become the 11th Freeman of the town. Crowds flocked to the town to see Sir Montgomery enrolled as a freeman at the Great Central Hall.

He made a return visit to the town in 1948 where he came in contact with his inauguration ceremony portrait from 1945 which still hangs in the Civic Centre today.

The Argus is appealing for information on Sir Montgomery's return visit in 1948. Photos from our archive show him being greeted by crowds at Newport train station.

Sir Montgomery was born in 1887 in London and attended the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was first commissioned in the 1st Battalion the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.

During the First World War based in Méteren, near the Belgian border, he was shot through the right lung by a sniper during an Allied counter-offensive on October 13, 1914. On his return home he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for gallant leadership.

Between the First World War and the Second World War he served in India, Egypt and Palestine. In 1942 he was appointed commander of the Eighth Army, the British and Commonwealth forces fighting in the Western Desert.

He is most remembered for leading the Battle of El Alamein which saw the British defeat the Germans and Italians and was the culmination of the Second World War North African campaign. Commander Montgomery launched the attack on October 23, 1942 which lasted 10 days.

It is reported that Prime Minister Winston Churchill believed this battle marked the turning point of the war.

Commander Montgomery went on to lead the Eighth Army in the Allied campaigns in Sicily and Italy before he was recalled to the UK to take part in the planning of Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy.

During the Normandy landings Montgomery commanded all Allied troops in France. He then led the 21at Army Group in the battle for Germany and was victorious on May 4, 1945, when the German northern armies at Lüneburg Heath surrendered.

After the war, Montgomery was created a knight of the Garter and 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.

In 1951, he became deputy commander of the Supreme Headquarters of NATO, serving for seven years. He died on March 24, 1976.

If you have any information on Field-Marshal Montgomery's visit to Newport in 1948 please contact us at newsdesk@gwent-wales.co.uk or 01633 777226.