If he was RSF, and if he was captured in Italy then it sounds like he was probably in the 2nd Battalion, part of 17th Infantry Brigade, 5th Infantry Division.
Quote:
The 5th Division saw action in the Sicily Landings from 9th to 12 July 1943, and then was part of the British Eighth Army in Italy. Under XIII Corps, it was in the Messina area in September 1943, involved in the Sangro battles from 19th Nov. to 3rd Dec. 1943, engagements at Garigliano Crossing from 17th to 31 January1944.
After the British 1st Infantry Division and other British forces, as part of the U.S. VI Corps under Major General John P. Lucas, landed at Anzio in January 1944, the 5th Division was part of later reinforcements sent there, along with the 56th (London) Infantry Division .
It was part of the drive on Rome from 22 May to 4 June 1944. From there they were sent to Palestine, back to Italy and finally to North West Europe for the final months of the war.
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