200 UNSEEN PHOTOS OF JOHN ON SET OF "HOW I WON THE WAR" HAVE GONE UP FOR AUCTION

• Set of 200 previously unseen photographs of John Lennon on set of How I Won the War have gone up for auction
• Although the World War Two film was not very well-received by critics, a 26-year-old Lennon made the most of it
• The Beatle can be seen laughing and joking with actors and crew on set during breaks in filming 
• Collection of black and white 35mm negatives were valued at £30,000 and will go under the hammer on March 22

A set of previously unseen photographs of John Lennon smiling and playing up to the camera on the set of a film he starred in 50 years ago are expected to sell for £30,000 when they go up for auction. 

The set of 200 candid images - 190 of which have never been published - show the usually intense Beatle having fun on the set of the 1967 black comedy movie 'How I Won the War'.

Although the World War Two film was not well-received by critics, the then 26-year-old seemed to have made the most of his time in Almeria, Northern Spain.

In some of the pictures a windswept Lennon can be seen wearing his trademark round glasses as he stands at wicket keeper during an impromptu game of cricket during a break in filming.

Although film How I Won the War was not well-received by critics, a then 26-year-old John (pictured) appears to have made the most of his time in Almeria, Spain in 1967. This set of previously unseen photographs is expected to sell for £30,000 at auction

The set of 200 candid images show the usually intense Beatle having fun on the set of the 1967 black comedy movie 'How I Won the War'

Dressed in army fatigues and sporting a unruly hair cut, the Liverpudlian stands ready behind rudimentary stumps hastily made from a wooden box. 

The legendary songwriter is also caught on camera laughing hysterically as he queue-jumps at the canteen. 

The peace campaigner also looked comfortable wielding a big gun in the turret of a tank and in another picture he appears to have picked up the '1,000 yard' stare of a seasoned veteran.

'How I Won the War' was released amidst the condemnation of the Vietnam war also starred 'Some Mothers Do Have 'Em' star Michael Crawford, Roy Kinnear, and Jack MacGowran - who played alcoholic detective Burke Dennings in the Exorcist. 

Dressed in army fatigues and sporting a unruly hair cut, the singer stands behind rudimentary stumps hastily made from a wooden box

A windswept John wore his trademark round glasses as he stands at wicket keeper during an impromptu game of cricket during a break

Despite his inexperience when it comes to acting, Lennon appears to have got on well with his co-stars as in one photograph he can be seen sharing a smoke with Kinnear.

The 200 negatives were all taken by the Austrian photographer Zdenko Hirschler who had hoped to use them in an exhibition entitled 'Smiling with John Lennon'.

But the event never happened as the veteran photographer died last year. He left the negatives to a friend who has now decided to sell them.

Omega Auctions of Warrington, Cheshire, is selling the rare pictures which come complete with copyright - so anyone who buys them can make money from them.

John was also caught on camera laughing hysterically as he queue-jumped at the canteen line during a break

John is pictured with fellow star Roy Kinnear on the set of How I Won the War. The pictures were taken by an Austrian photographer

Karen Fairweather, director at Omega, said: 'These are really rare photographs that show John Lennon just messing around and having fun.

'It was at a time he didn't know what he was going to do in the future and he thought The Beatles were coming to an end.

'There are a couple where he is posing with a camera and he was joking with Hirschler that he was going to be a photographer and there is another of him laughing as he gets his food.

'He just looks so happy and relaxed which is quite rare to see, he was very intense - but you just don't see that in this collection. He's just messing around and having such fun.'

For the film Lennon struggled to remember his lines so director Richard Lester shuffled him into to a supporting role of playing the comedic Musketeer Gripweed.

The film followed the farcical adventures of a group of soldiers battling the Nazis and is loosely based on the Allied landings in North Africa in 1942. 

The collection of 200 black and white 35mm negatives, complete with contact sheets, have been valued at £30,000. They will go under the hammer on March 22.