Incredible pictures of some of the most momentous events that took place behind the scenes of the Second World War have been unearthed. The photos were taken by Cabinet Office secretary Brenda Hart, who worked for the Government in the last two years of the war and had a ringside seat to key decisions made by the Allied leaders. As part of her work she accompanied former prime minister Winston Churchill and other leading political figures on official diplomatic trips to Russia and Germany and witnessed the Potsdam Conference in which the division of Germany into four zones was agreed, paving the way for the Cold War. Her unique collection of photographs and mementos, which also include snaps of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, is now going up for auction where it could fetch as much as £1,200. Miss Hart was secretary to Churchill's chief of staff General Hastings Ismay and enjoyed incredible access to both him and other world leaders. She also wrote a series of letters which give fascinating insights, including watching Churchill and Stalin shaking hands at the Bolshoi ballet in 1944, being behind Churchill as he walked out on to the balcony at the Ministry of Health to to wave to some 50,000 Londoners on VE day and even visiting Hitler's bombed out Reich Chancellery at the end of the war. Miss Hart also attended the Casablanca Conference in 1943 with Churchill and President Franklin Roosevelt and the 1944 Quebec Conference in Canada which discussed the use of the Royal Navy to aid the US in the war in the Pacific as well as the plans for Germany after an Allied victory.
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A collection of photos from behind the scenes of the British Government during the Second World War have been unearthed from the files of Cabinet Office secretary Brenda Hart (second right), who worked for Winston Churchill's chief of staff General Hastings Ismay (second left). Also pictured are other secretaries
Through her job, Miss Hart was able to take iconic pictures of some of Britain's leaders during the war, including this photo of Churchill (bottom row, second right) with some of his generals, including Normandy forces commander Bernard Montgomery (bottom row, second left) in the Downing Street garden on VE Day, 1945. The group gathered to celebrate the momentous occasion Germany surrendered to the Allies, formally ending the Second World War in Europe
Her access to the Prime Minister extended to his visit to Buckingham Palace on VE Day 1945, pictured, where he met King George VI, bottom row centre, and posed with officials on the steps of the palace to celebrate the victory. Millions more around the country shared in their joy as they welcomed the end of six years of bloodshed and the toppling of the brutal Nazi regime
Miss Hart, pictured left with a soldier, was also granted access to Churchill's war rooms through her job. She even took a rare picture of General Ismay, right, discussing military plans at one of the top secret meetings in the secret bunker hidden below Westminster that has now become a popular tourist attraction
Her role with the Cabinet Office gave her something of a jetset lifestyle, travelling the globe to attend meetings with the Prime Minister. She took this picture of the 1944 Quebec Conference where Churchill, right, President Franklin D Roosevelt, left, and Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, centre, debated the future of Germany and how it should be dealt with following the end of the war
Miss Hart's career even took her as far as Moscow in 1944 where she pictured Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, second right, and his government seeing Churchill off at an airport following crucial talks in the Russian capital. Churchill and Stalin were ideologically opposed but managed to put their differences aside during the war to focus on fighting Germany
Miss Hart, pictured second right, was even able to pose for a picture outside Hitler's damaged Reich Chancellery in Berlin in July 1945, while Germany was being occupied two months after its defeat to the Allies. Just months earlier it had been the Fuhrer's seat of power before he fled to a nearby bunker where he eventually committed suicide
The secretary is pictured here with an unknown colleague wrapped up warm at the Moscow airfield in 1944 ready to return to the UK following Churchill's meeting with Stalin. Her collection of photos and letters are to go up for auction tomorrow and could fetch as much as £1,200
The 1944 Moscow farewell, pictured, was also attended by Stalin's (left) right-hand man Vyacheslav Molotov (centre), after whom the nickname 'Molotov cocktail' was after over the use of incendiary weapons. By 1944 Russia had successfully repelled the German invasion and the Soviets were slowly making advances towards Germany, despite suffering heavy casualties
Miss Hart pictured the moment UK and Soviet officials came together to pose for a huge picture at the Moscow airfield in October 1944 just months before relations between the country would break down. Disputes over the occupation of Germany sparked off decades of diplomatic stand-offs between Russia and the west and would see Churchill claim an 'iron curtain' had descended over eastern Europe
Her collection of photos heavily features Churchill, pictured in January 1944, as she followed the premier around on his official duties as he led Britain to victory in the Second World War. Miss Hart's letters to her aunt also reveal her admiration for 'the great man' and her disappointment that he was defeated at the 1945 General Election when Clement Attlee and Labour came to power with the nation demanding improvements in social care and welfare
She certainly enjoyed the perks of the job, receiving special tickets and passes (right) to allow her behind-the-scenes access to important discussions, while her photos also include a grand villa in Berlin that became the interim 'Cabinet Office' (left) during the Potsdam Conference in Germany between July and August 1945
Among the other famous names Miss Hart pictured during her time at the Cabinet Office was Lord Mountbatten, centre, who was Supreme Allied Commander in South East Asia during the war, and General Alan Brooke, right, Chief of the Imperial General Staff for the British Army, in Morocco in January 1943 following the Casablanca Conference where the Allies discussed the plans for the next stage of the war
She also met Churchill's wife Clemmie, centre, after she accompanied her husband on his trip to Canada for the Quebec Conference in 1944 alongside a British delegation of diplomats and officials
Miss Hart, pictured at the 'Cabinet Office' villa in Germany, also kept a note from Churchill to her boss, 'cordially thanking' his staff for all their hard work and 'unfailing help' during the war. It further reveals her respect for the prime minister, who she wrote fondly about frequently
She was also pictured here enjoying the markets in Morocco and haggling with local children while the Casablanca Conference was being held in 1943. The conference was attended by President Roosevelt, Churchill and leader of the Free French Charles de Gaulle and confirmed that the Allies would accept nothing less than 'unconditional surrender' from the Germans
Miss Hart's items, including her typed letters, pictured, have belonged to a collector for some time who now 'wishes for someone else to enjoy them'. In the letters she reveals she visited Hitler's underground bunker and 'even brought home a glass from his cabinet', making her one of few British civilians to enter the structure
She also revealed insight into Churchill's dealings away from the war, and said the 1945 UK General Election was a 'disturbance' and that the country 'should have let Mr Churchill see it (the end of the war) through without giving him all this extra work'. Churchill is pictured in Quebec in 1944 with Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King where the pair discussed Canada's continued support for the Allied cause
It was not the male leaders of the UK and US that Miss Hart gained special access to, as she was also present to capture a speech given by Mrs Churchill, right, and Eleanor Roosevelt, left, at the Quebec Conference in 1944. Mrs Roosevelt was a controversial First Lady and was the first to host regular press conferences. She also became famous for her support of the civil rights movement
Among the items are her official documents, pictured, to allow her access to travel around Germany with British delegations for the Potsdam Conference in 1945
