Colin Maud Captain Colin Douglas Maud DSO * DSC * ( 21 January 1903 - 1980 ) was a Royal Navy officer who during World War II commanded the destroyers " Somali " and " Icarus " and acted as beachmaster of Juno beach at the D - day landings . With a heavy black beard , he " possessed the outward appearance of a latter - day buccaneer and was endowed with exceptional boldness and tenacity to go with it " . His iconic blackthorn stick and dog Winnie provided an enduring image when portrayed by Kenneth More in the film " The Longest Day " . He was described as " one of the most popular officers in the British Navy " . Early life and education . Maud was born on 21 January 1903 and educated at Edgeborough school , Guildford and Britannia Royal Naval College . Royal Navy service . Early career . Maud became a midshipman on 15 January 1921 , and was appointed to for 2 years . He was promoted to sub - lieutenant in 1924 , and completed his Greenwich lieutenants ' course and submarine courses before joining the submarine in 1925 . He was promoted to lieutenant in 1925 , and joined in April 1927 . Between 1927 and 1931 he served in the destroyer and the submarine . He became the commanding officer of the submarine in April 1932 . He joined the W - class destroyer in 1932 and by October of the same year was second - in - command of the destroyer . He was promoted to lieutenant commander in 1933 . Destroyer command . Between July 1935 and early 1937 he commanded the 1919 - vintage destroyer before moving in May 1937 to the brand new destroyer " Icarus " , which operated in the North Sea at the beginning of World War II . On 29 November 1939 , in company with the destroyers and , " Icarus " depth charged and sank the German submarine " U - 35 " . On 3 March 1940 , in company with " Express " , " Impulsive " and " Esk " , Maud ' s " Icarus " laid a minefield which claimed " U - 44 " 10 days later . On 11 April 1940 " Icarus " captured the 8 , 514 - ton German supply ship " Alster " and on 13 April took part in the Second Battle of Narvik . He received a clutch of awards during the summer of 1940 : on 28 June 1940 the Distinguished Service Cross , on 11 July 1940 a bar to the same award , " for good services in the Royal Navy since the outbreak of War " , and on 16 August 1940 a mention in despatches . In early May 1941 , Maud commanded " Icarus " during the hunt for the " Bismarck " , escorting the battlecruiser and the battleship . Poor weather meant that the destroyers were unable to keep up with the capital ships , and when " Hood " had been sunk , " Icarus " joined in the search for survivors - of which there were only three . As commanding officer of " Icarus " , Maud participated in the evacuation of Dunkirk , in a raid on Spitzbergen , in the Malta convoys , and in numerous Atlantic and Russian convoys . Maud took over as captain of the destroyer " Somali " in September 1942 when her own captain , Jack Eaton , was ill . While covering the return of the Russian convoy PQ - 18 , " Somali " was torpedoed by " U - 703 " on 20 September . She was hit in her engine room , and although taken under tow by , on 25 September heavy weather broke her back , and she sank . Maud was rescued by Leading Seaman William Goad , who dove into the freezing water with a rope , for which Goad was awarded the Albert Medal . Of the 102 men on board , only 35 were rescued . Maud had spent an hour in the Arctic water , and credited his survival to the fact that he had drunk a bottle of whisky after going overboard . As a result he ordered men under his command to carry a bottle of whisky , which proved to be a popular order . On 1 December 1942 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order . Normandy beachmaster . Appointed as principal beachmaster of Juno beach during the Normandy landings in the rank of acting captain , Maud was responsible for marshalling troops , supplies and equipment through the beach zone , for evacuating casualties and prisoners of war , and for salvaging wrecks and clearing beach obstacles . For conducting these difficult duties under fire , and for several weeks afterwards , he was awarded a bar to his Distinguished Service Order . Eight days after the first landings , Charles de Gaulle and his entourage were met by Maud ( who was incongruously wearing shorts ) when they landed in France . While de Gaulle met Montgomery , Maud drove Admiral d ' Argenlieu , General Kœnig , Gaston Palewski and Colonel Boislambert to Bayeux in his jeep to prepare for de Gaulle ' s entrance to the city . The preparations included Maud driving round the streets of Bayeux carrying a French Resistance leader shouting " General de Gaulle will speak at four o ' clock on the Place du Chateau " . Walcheren . Maud was appointed as the deputy commander of the Flushing assault force during the Allied attack on Walcheren Island . On 11 December 1945 he was mentioned in despatches " for distinguished service during the War in Europe " . Later career . , a new Bay - class anti - aircraft frigate , had been intended for the British Pacific Fleet . Maud commanded her from June 1945 , taking her through her work up in Scotland , but when Japan surrendered , she was sent instead to the Mediterranean Fleet . Maud left her there in October 1946 to take command of , a reserve depot ship in Plymouth . Maud was promoted to captain on 30 June 1947 . On 25 November 1947 he was granted permission to wear the order of a Commander of the Order of Orange - Nassau , which had been bestowed by the Queen of the Netherlands in recognition of " services rendered to the Royal Netherlands Navy during the war " . From 1948 to 1949 he commanded as Senior Officer , Reserve Forces , Clyde area . From April 1949 until May 1951 he was deputy to Rear Admiral James Jefford , serving as the second - in - command of the Royal Pakistan Navy . From 1951 to 1953 he commanded the 4th Minesweeping Flotilla at Harwich before moving to the Amphibious Warfare HQ as Director Amphibious Warfare ( Material ) . His last appointment in the Royal Navy was as Commandant of the Amphibious Warfare Centre at Fremington , Devon , in the rank of commodore , second class . He retired from the Royal Navy in 1956 . " The Longest Day " . In the 1962 movie " The Longest Day " he was played by Kenneth More . Winnie , his dog , was a German Shepherd , and Werner Pluskat already had a dog of the same breed in the film , but Darryl F . Zanuck " improved upon history " by making Winnie an English Bulldog . Maud acted as a technical adviser on the film and provided More with the same shillelagh he had carried on D - Day . Family . Maud married , firstly , Elizabeth ( Betty ) Gibson in 1926 , and secondly , Valerie Compston ( " née " Bocquet ) , the ex - wife of Vice Admiral Sir Peter Compston , in 1967 . Death . Maud died in 1980 aged 77 .