Italian Army - information

My father, who died over 40 years ago, ended up in England as prisoner of war. He spoke very little of his experiences during WWII except that he was enlisted in the kings army from Calabria in 1936 and was sent to Ethiopia. He was captured, he said in 1942 in Belgium Congo and was sent from there to South Africa, then to India and thence to Liverpool. He ended up in Cornwall at end of war. I do not know any more. Does anyone have any information on possible regiments, etc.

 

The Italian Army did not fight in the Belgian Congo. However, the Belgians did send a strong contingent of mostly native troops from the Congo to fight beside their British allies in Ethiopia. It is possible that your father was captured by these Belgians and then brought to the Congo from whence he was transferred to South Africa, India, and ultimately England. Alternatively, the Belgians may have handed him over to the South Africans in Ethiopia (large numbers of South African and Indian troops also participated in that campaign). Frankly, I am a little surprised that your father was sent to England; the British seem to have sent as many of their prisoners as possible to distant camps in the dominions (Australia, Canada, South Africa, etc).

Here is an article on the Belgian contingent in Ethiopia: http://utdr.utoledo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=ur-87-68 . A fuller text version is at Full text of "The Belgian Campaign in Ethiopia". The best version is at HyperWar: 'The Belgian Campaign in Ethiopia'. See also HyperWar: 'The Belgian Congo at War' .

The article mentions several places where the Belgians were engaged with the Italians, and that might give you a clue as to which unit your father was in. The Belgians captured large numbers of Italians around Saio and Gambella. Fuller accounts of the Ethiopian campaign are available in the British, South African, and Indian Army official histories. The volumes covering the East African campaigns are at HyperWar: World War II on the World Wide Web. I am not familiar with the Italian sources. Wikipedia has an order of battle with Italian units at Order of Battle, East African Campaign (World War II) - Wikipedia . I have no idea how accurate it is.

 

The 27th Division served in North Africa, though, not East Africa.

 

All I know from the little my father talked about was that he was an aide to a Colonel at the end of his campaign before being captured. He said he was taken to the Congo, thence to South Africa and on to India before ending up in Liverpool in 1944. He was captured in 1942. He was conscripted into the army in 1936 just after getting married. He was from Calabria (Cosenza/Catenzaro). No idea which regiment he was in except that he said it was a royal regiment.