IT was an appalling scene, memories of which have remained with Donald Leach ever since.

The young tank crewman was in a village in north-east France shortly after D-Day when the group spotted a large excited crowd gathered around the green.

"To the sound of a bugle, a couple of girls were being led, struggling towards the green. They were jeered by the crowd and abuse was hurled at them, especially by the women.

"One by one they were held on a chair and their hair was cut off, first with scissors and then clippers so that they quickly took on a bald appearance," he recalled.

The girls were accused of collaboration or sleeping with the Boche (Germans).

"Some struggled and fought throughout and, as a result, got their heads grazed or cut in the process. Others were just passive or wept."

Mr Leach, aged 82, of Lynwood Close, Ferndown, who served with the Westminster Dragoons, highlighted the incident in memoirs of his experiences written more than 40 years after the war.

And with support from the Heroes Return scheme he has been able to return to Arromanches beach where he landed.

"It was a beautiful evening but it soon turned nasty," he remembered.

"After a day or so we joined up with the first part of our regiment that went over on D-Day. They were pretty glad to still be alive, of course. They said it was pretty hairy at times.

"When Paris was captured, we heard it on the radio and there was cheering and great relief. It was the most exciting thing to go through villages and towns that had just been liberated. They lined the routes and threw flowers. They didn't have a lot of food left, but anything they had, they offered you."

Mr Leach also served in Germany before being demobbed in August 1946 to join the Metropolitan Police with whom he enjoyed a 30 year career.

He and his wife Sheila have lived in Dorset for 28 years, eight of which have been in Ferndown.

First published: August 15