Indeed there were plans, the War Office starting to consider the matter in 1942; in late 1944, with Allied forces advancing in Europe and the prospect of Prisoner of War camps being liberated, a Prisoner of War Executive (PWX) Branch was established under Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) who would be responsible for Recovered Allied Military Personnel (RAMP). SHAEF issued various ECLIPSE memoranda concerning the surrender and occupation of Germany including No. 8: The Care and Evacuation of POWs in Greater Germany under "Eclipse" Conditions.

After liberation RAMPs were transported back via standard lines of communication to temporary camps in France and Belgium for initial processing, then on to medical facilities if necessary, or to a reception centre. A large US centre was at Camp Lucky Strike near Le Havre, one of the tented "cigarette camps" that served as a staging area for troops arriving on the continent as well as those returning home, British and Commonwealth personnel were flown back to the UK by RAF and USAAF aircraft in Operation Exodus. Each service had their own reception centres, the Commonwealth countries also having reception groups working alongside or within the British centres.

At the reception centres RAMPs were issued with new uniforms and back pay, and should have completed a Prisoner of War Liberation Questionnaire for MI9 covering the details of their captivity including possible war crimes or collaboration for further investigation, though not all did so. RAMPs received at least 28 days of leave before generally beginning the process of demobilisation or travel home, though some had the opportunity for a gradual rehabilitation programme to adjust to civilian life again.

As Soviet forces advanced in 1945, prison camps in eastern Germany and Poland were evacuated and the prisoners forcibly marched west in "The Long March", so the majority were liberated by US and British units as outlined above. Those unable to march, or forgotten, or who escaped on the way were liberated by Soviet forces and had rather more varied experiences. An agreement had been reached that RAMPs would be taken to a camp at Odessa, from where they could be transported back to the UK, but the situation in Poland was rather chaotic; at least one escaped US PoW, Joseph Beyrle, appears to have fought with the Red Army for a while, others were imprisoned on the way, but around 7,000 reached Odessa one way or another and were then shipped back to the UK and France.

See:

Chapter 11: The Reception of Liberated Prisoners in the United Kingdom and Their Repatriation, Prisoners of War, W. Wynne Mason

[Bringing them all back home: Prisoner of war contact, recovery and reception units, 1944–45] (https://www.awm.gov.au/sites/default/files/2015%20Bryce%20A%20Bringing%20them%20home%20FINAL%20AM%20BA2.pdf), Bryce Abraham

[Liberation] (https://kenfentonswar.com/liberation/), Ken Fenton's War (includes Ken's Liberation Questionnaire)

[RAMP: Administrative Repatriation Procedures & Evacuation and Disposition of Recovered Allied Military Personnel] (https://www.med-dept.com/articles/r-a-m-p/), WW2 US Medical Research Centre