Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID # |
1972.022.029 |
Object Name |
Tag, Identification |
Title |
C.E.F. Identification Discs of Whitford A. Harris |
Lexicon category |
8: Communication Artifact |
Year Range from |
1916 |
Year Range to |
1918 |
Made |
Unknown |
Place of Origin |
Canada |
Description |
These military identification tags are made of a pressed fibreboard (cardboard-like) and are attached together with cord. Please do not remove this string cord as the tags were issued together. One tag is a reddish-brown disc, while the other one has a different shape and a different colour. |
Provenance |
Unknown maker. Issued to and last owned by Whitford A. Harris of Owen Sound, Grey County, who initially belonged to the 248th Battalion, but was drafted in 1917 to the 58th Battalion. Last owned by his wife, Alma Isabelle Harris (neé Horton) of Owen Sound, Grey County. |
Collection |
Military, 20th-c Collection |
Material |
Cardboard/Cord/Dye |
Found |
Owen Sound, Grey County |
People |
Harris, Whitford A. |
Subjects |
World War I (First World War/The Great War) |
Search Terms |
58th Battalion 248th Battalion |
Function |
During the First World War, tags like this were issued to Canadian soldiers. In case the soldier was wounded or killed, they provided necessary information for the Chaplain or burial detail (e.g. his religious affiliation, his unit, his rank, his name). One tag would be kept with the body, while the other one would be used for documentation purposes. The bodies of the fallen were not brought back to Canada, but were buried in military cemeteries. Luckily, the man who had these tags, Private Whitford A. Harris of Owen Sound, survived the war. |