Three Catford thugs left a 54-year-old man with three fractures to his face in a row over a top hat - leaving him afraid to take the train on his own or even talk to strangers in the street.
Frenchman Jacky Pautonnier had been travelling home after an evening eating cheese with friends when he was hassled by three men at Catford Bridge station about his headwear.
Mr Pautonnier, an IT manager who helps organise events celebrating Normandy culture in the capital, said the trio were carrying bags full of hard spirits and appeared "excited".
He said: "One guy said 'can I borrow it?'
"Seeing they were a bit excited I said no, because it's a nice top hat.
"In the past, people asked me when there's a good atmosphere to take a picture but this was in the evening and they were carrying bags of spirits."
After boarding the train, the three men continued to harass Mr Pautonnier by sitting behind him and touching his hat before a final violent altercation.
He explained: "I said to one of them 'you're not going to hit an old guy like me. I have cardiac problems.'
"He was going 'why do older guys always say that?'"
The next thing Mr Pautonnier remembers is waking up on the floor of the train with his hat gone. He said: "Suddenly I saw the door was covered with blood. I thought 'oh my god' and I touched my face and I was bleeding."
He was left with three fractures to his face and needed surgery at the Royal Hospital of Whitechapel. And, although he feels fine now, the attack has affected him in other ways.
Mr Pautonnier said: "I do worry about getting the train now. If I'm alone and it's the evening and there's nobody around I feel worried.
"I used to be someone who was very easygoing, you could talk to me, I like to help people. Now when people ask me something in the street I just jump."
Since the attack, a friend has set up an online campaign raising money to buy Mr Pautonnier a new hat to replace the one that was stolen - originally bought from London's Sherlock Holmes Museum at the suggestion of his two sons and which has become his "trademark".
He said: "I bought it and took it in the tube. I was a bit embarrassed but I got some nice smiles so I kept it.
"I went to the office. Everybody told me 'it suits you' so I've always worn it since then because people like it."
He went on: "I felt a bit sad. But to be honest the hat is the hat. The most important thing was my health. I was also surprised the police said to me the biggest response from appeals was the fact they'd stolen my hat. In France it would be the damage to my face."
And he added: "From a Frenchman's point of view, the attitude of the police was fantastic. And the work of the Royal Hospital of Whitechapel was absolutely brilliant."
Police want to trace three men over the attack, which happened on February 28, just after 10pm.
Investigating officer Stephen Allen said: "I am keen to speak to the men in the CCTV images as they may hold vital information to my investigation and I urge them to come forward."
Anyone with information should call British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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