AN American woman has come to Dorchester in a bid to retrace the Second World War journey of her GI father.

Penny Greene Draves, from Minnesota, is acting as the 'eyes and ears' for her father Jim Greene, who served with the First Infantry Division 18th Regiment.

Mr Greene, 81, is too poorly to travel long distances and Penny is tracing his steps from London to the Czech Republic, sending him pictures via email at every place where he was stationed during the war - including Dorchester, where he was stationed before the D-Day landings.

She said: "A few months ago a call came through from Ralph 'Andy' Richardson asking for my father - 56 years after they had served together.

"I managed to arrange a reunion and sat there, fascinated as they recounted their experiences, with their old rosters, photographs and medals spread out in front of them."

Miss Greene Draves quit her job to be able to write the story of her father's life, travelling to the American National Military Personnel Archives in St Louis and spending hours searching through reels of war reports.

She added: "I've interviewed veterans who served with my father and the families of veterans who have died and all along my route through the places where my father was posted I'll be recording the memories of people who grew up during the Second World War."

After her stay in Dorchester Miss Greene Draves is travelling on to France, where she will visit the place where her Uncle Robert was first buried at Epinal in May 1945. She will then go on to Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany before ending up in the Czech Republic.

Anyone who would like to submit memories and photographs for Miss Greene Draves' book can email her at ww2daughter @earthlink.net.