Derek Mills-Roberts: Difference between revisions

Later in the war, among other actions, he took part in the [[Bergen-Belsen concentration camp]]'s liberation. When ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' Field Marshal [[Erhard Milch]] was captured and surrendered his [[Baton (symbol)#Third Reich|command baton]] to Mills-Roberts, the latter vented his anger about the atrocities he had seen at Bergen-Belsen marching Milch around the camp and demanding to know his thoughts on the terrible sights witnessed. Milch's reply (who spoke English) was along the lines of 'these people are not human beings in the same way as you and I!' This infuriated Mills-Roberts who took Milch's Field Marshal's baton from under Milch's arm and broke it over his head. Mills-Roberts went to Montgomery the following day to apologise for losing his temper with a senior German officer and [[Bernard Montgomery|Montgomery]] put his hands over his head in mock protection jokingly saying 'I hear you've got a thing about Field Marshals and nothing more was said. The broken pieces were retrieved by his batman and the remains were given to Mills-Robert's wife Jill who had the baton restored at Swayne Adeney Brigg in London but the replacement shaft was slightly longer than the original. In later years, Jill sold the baton at auction. Before the auction, an injunction was put on the sale by the Milch family who contested ownership saying that the baton was 'stolen' from Milch. A local magistrate in UK decided that the baton was legitimate war booty and the sale continued, the baton going to an American collector in Florida. <ref>http://www.fpp.co.uk/docs/ReadersLetters/EvStd200886.html</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=September 2018fact}} By June 1945, he was a [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|brigadier]] (temporary).<ref name="LG 19 June 1945" />