From England?
Sorry but I doubt he took a Stuart V with the regiment to Italy. It may have been (small chance) that it was an earlier Stuart, but I've found no record of any going to Sicily, as I have the shipping records.
They generally used scout cars and carriers in their recce troops till the spring of '44. At that point the Stuart V recce tank had been suitably developed and was issued first to 5 CAD, then the rest of the CW units in Italy got it afterwards.
This would have put their receipt of Stuarts sometime around the Feb-May timeframe.
As far as being a "new" tank that he got, the Stuart V and VI, despite being very similar outside, were indeed very different inside, with the V being equipped with a radial, and the VI having the twin Caddys.
Don
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