British Great War Identity Tags.

[Gunner87]

After being handed down my Great Grandfather's World War One Identity Tags I wrote a shot article on the artefacts for a military Facebook group I had joined. As such, I thought to share the information in this group as I was surprised at the number of people that didn't know the history or purpose of the different design of 'Dog Tags' .

 

The British Army introduced Identity Tags in 1907 in order a soldiers details could be recorded should he become a casualty. They were locally produced at unit depots and stamped with regimental number, surname and initials, regiment, and sometimes battalion and rank. Religion was also added. This method of production meant the characters were rarely aligned.

 

The aluminium discs were the first design though by 1915 they were made of compressed fibre that was more comfortable in hot climates.

 

Two tags were required to be worn bearing the same information. An eight sided green tag with two holes was hung around the neck using one hole. Through the remaining hole a shorter cord was strung with a red tag hanging from it. This method allowed the latter to be removed leaving the green tag in place on the body. Wearing the tags in this manner meant those finding the soldier with only a green tag would know his death had been previously reported. The details on the green tag could then be used on a grave marker.

 

In addition to the official Identity Tags soldiers often had manufactured an Identity Bracelet many of which took the form of the aluminium disc or were made of silver. Having their service number and initials stamped on the army issue spoon was also common practice . This served a dual purpose, to identify a valuable piece of kit if lost and also to assist identification should they become a casualty. I have also attached my Great Grandfather's Pattern 3910/1894 'Fiddleback' spoon, the earliest issue used in the Great War, with his regimental number and unit stamped on the handle. It is noticeable that one side of the 'bowl' has been straightened so as to act as a knife. 

 

I hope that is of some interest.

 

Gunner.