The slaughter of 97 men, mostly from the Royal Norfolk Regiment, has now been commemorated with a sculpture at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

The launch of the memorial was marked with two tribute services attended by the Princess Royal and the soldiers' family members.

The Princess Royal laid a wreath at the memorial(Image: Le Paradis Memorial Appeal Group)

It was on May 27, 1940 when the regiment's 2nd division, who had been holding against SS units for hours in Le Paradis, Northern France, finally ran out of ammunition and made the unimaginably difficult decision to surrender.

However, the men were not treated as prisoners. Instead, they were stripped of their weapons and helmets, lined up outside a barn, and machine gunned.

While 97 met a cruel end, two men miraculously survived, and later gave evidence against the commander who ordered their execution.........

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