I found it!
One piece of paper that had alluded me, was a document which proved the location of a processing camp for Italian prisoners of war in Egypt: the official start of the many documents which made up a prisoner’s of war dossier.
These numerically sequenced forms gave the Italian prisoner of war his first prisoner of war number. M/E or M.E. = Middle East: the area of Egypt, Palestine, the Sudan, Kenya.
Army Form W. 3000 (Italian) Prisoner of War Part 1
On my many trolling missions through random documents in the National Archives of Australia, I found it!
I am still to understand an army/government filing system which appears to have more records for one Italian POW and less for the majority.
For every Italian POWs who was held captive in Australia, there are two files available to view online: MP1103/1 and MP1103/2.
Yet, for a number of others, their records from the POW Camps in India, their Identity Cards for Australia and Australian medical records have been kept.
There seems to be no rhyme or reason for this. And for Italian families looking for information on their POW relatives, this is frustrating.
Maybe these records are lying deep in the archives, yet to be catalogued.
But excitingly, one Army Form W.3000 (Italian) Prisoner of War has survived.
NAA: A367, C86896 P.W.62533, Rinaldini, Argo
I think, this is the first of many forms that accompanied the Italian POW. A printed document with sequential M.E. numbers is the first official record. A feint stamp in the top right hand corner : Prisoner of War Camp Geneifa, is where the paperwork trail begins. Received into a POW Camp in India, 7th August 1941, Argo Rinaldini had a further transfer to Murchison Australia 27th April 1944, as is stamped on the reverse side of the form.
Interestingly, he received a TAB. VACC 6th July 1941. Quite possibly, all prisoners of war, as a matter of course, received this vaccination.
TAB. VACC = combined vaccine used to produce immunity against the diseases typhoid, paratyphoid A, and paratyphoid B
In the POW Camps in India, Italian POWs received further inoculations and vaccinations.
Possibly, this was one of the forms transferred to Italian officials at the time of arrival in Italy. Who knows?
Unfortunately, this random ‘find’ will only encourage me to continue my random searches of POW records.
I wonder what I will find next!
NAA: A367, C86896 P.W.62533, Rinaldini, Argo
Further reading:
Footprints of Italian Prisoners of War in Australia 