I've been trawling through past posts and found this one. I don't know if you're still interested but I'll post the reply anyway.
My father, Thomas Ray, served from 1935-45 with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. He served in India until 1942, apart from volunteering as a signaler in Abyssinia during 1940/1, before going into action in Libya during 1942. He was captured on June 4th 1942 having held of an armoured assault for four days as part of an anti-tank crew. He was sent as a POW to Italy where, in 1943, he escaped. He looked Italian, spoke the language fluently and was at large for 6 months before being picked up as a suspected Italian deserter! Sent to Germany, he was imprisoned in a Straffe Lager for several months before being sent to Stalg 11B. In 1945 he was released by the Americans who issued him with small arms to police the area. He dies in 1988.