Brigadier Derek Mills-Roberts Memorial

A memorial to Brigadier Derek Mills-Roberts, CBE, DSO & Bar, MC

During the Normandy landings in June 1944, Brigadier Derek Mills-Roberts commanded No. 6 Commando of the 1st Special Service Brigade. His unit played a vital role in the assault on the port of Ouistreham and in linking up with British paratroopers at Bénouville.

After Brigadier Lord Lovat was wounded on 12 June 1944, Mills‑Roberts assumed command of the 1st Special Service Brigade.

In the weeks following D-Day the unit took up a more static role before the liberation of Bavent on the the 19th August 1944.

Following his passing in the 1980s, his ashes were laid here in the cemetery at Bavent, Normandy.

Below is the inscription from the commemorative plaque dedicated to Brigadier Derek Mills-Roberts, presented first in its original French and then the English translation

GÉNÉRAL DE BRIGADE
DEREK MILLS-ROBERTS
C.B.E D.S.O. M.C.
officer de la legion d'Honneur
Croix de Guerre avec Palme
IRISH GUARDS
23.11.1908 - 1.10.1980
qui cominandait de 1 Brigade Commando
pour la liberation de Bavent le 19.08.1944

BRIGADIER
DEREK MILLS-ROBERTS
C.B.E., D.S.O., M.C.
Officer of the Légion d’Honneur
Croix de Guerre with Palm
IRISH GUARDS
23.11.1908 – 1.10.1980
Who commanded the 1st Commando Brigade
for the liberation of Bavent on 19.08.1944