Derek Mills – Roberts Brigadier Derek Mills - Roberts , CBE , DSO and bar , MC ( 23 November 1908 – 1 October 1980 ) was a British commando who fought with the 1st Special Service Brigade during World War II . In a quirk of military history , he became the only Allied soldier to strike an enemy flag officer with the latter ' s own staff - of - office — when Mills - Roberts bashed Erhard Milch over the head with the just - surrendered marshal ' s baton . Early life . Derek Mills - Roberts was born on 23 November 1908 in England . During the 1930s , he trained to become a lawyer at Liverpool College and University of Oxford . On 3 October 1936 , he was commissioned into the Irish Guards Supplementary Reserve of Officers as a second lieutenant , having been an officer cadet of the University of Oxford contingent of the Officer Training Corps . It was at Oxford that Derek met his good friend Lord Lovat . Derek and Lord Lovat had actually got off on a bad start . They had a rivalry which involved a heated argument and an exchange of blows . From that time on however , they became close friends . After graduation from Oxford , Derek worked for his father ' s law firm . World War II . Mills - Roberts began his military service in the No . 4 Commando Unit . His good friend , Lord Lovat was given command of the unit , while Derek served as Second in Command . On 3 March 1941 , Derek , in the No . 4 Commando Unit , launched a raid on the German - occupied Lofoten Islands . In the successful raid , the commandos destroyed a significant number of fish - oil factories , petrol dumps and 11 ships . They also seized encryption equipment and codebooks . In addition to the destruction of materials , the commandos captured 216 German troops , and 315 Norwegians chose to accompany the commandos back to Britain . In August 1942 , Derek was involved in the disastrous Dieppe Raid . The raid , a small scale invasion mounted by Canadian infantry and British commandos against Adolf Hitler ' s Atlantic Wall , was a complete failure and the units involved suffered very heavily . Lovat and Derek ' s involvement in the raid was to secure the opposing flanks of the landing area and to destroy coastal batteries . By October 1942 , he was a lieutenant ( temporary captain ) ( acting major ) . In late 1942 , Derek was promoted to Lieutenant - Colonel and given command of No . 6 Commando Unit ; he was then stationed in North Africa . Later in the war , among other actions , he took part in the Bergen - Belsen concentration camp ' s liberation . When Nazi field marshall Erhard Milch was captured and surrendered his command baton to Mills - Roberts , the latter vented his anger about the atrocities he had seen at Bergen - Belsen by breaking the baton over Milch ' s head . By June 1945 , he was a brigadier ( temporary ) . Honours and decorations . Mills - Roberts was awarded the Military Cross on 2 October 1942 " in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the combined attack on Dieppe " . He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order ( DSO ) on 22 April 1943 " in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in North Africa " . He was awarded a medal bar to his Distinguished Service Order ( DSO and bar ) on 21 June 1945 " in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in North - West Europe " . In the 1950 New Year Honours , he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire ( CBE ) .