The Sunderland man who was Field Marshall Montgomery's bodyguard

A Sunderland man had the honour of protecting one of the most famous figures in British military history.

Leslie Sproxton was only 19 years old when he became a personal bodyguard to Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery.

Monty - the man who led the Allies in the battle of El Alamein in the Second World War. was on a visit to Paris in 1949 and Lance Corporal Sproxton was part of a team of officers who had to create a security screen around him.

A 'much envied job'

The Sunderland Echo carried a report which read: "Wearside National Serviceman with a much envied Army job is L/Cpl. Leslie Sproxton."

"Leslie has been in the Royal Corps of Military Police since he joined the Army two years ago."

Before joining the Army, Leslie worked in the booking office at Seaburn Station prior to joining the Army, and was expecting to go back to the post.

Military police work for a Millfield man

He had been at Field Marshal Montgomery's headquarters for around three months and before that he had done Military Police work in London, Liverpool, Southampton and Leeds.

Leslie's story was shared with the Echo by Derek Holcroft who has provided us with a number of incredible accounts of Sunderland people and their amazing achievements.

He told us about Joseph Gillis who did vital work at Bletchley Park, once the top-secret home which was the principal Allied base for codebreakers.

The Sunderland man who helped to develop radar

Gillis broke the codes in which the Germans sent their weather reports, important to the air forces campaign. And it was Derek who shared the story of Bernard Rimmington who played a huge role in the development of radar. Our thanks go once again to Derek.

If you have a story to tell about a hero from Sunderland's past, email [email protected]