TAG, DOG
Boultenhouse Heritage Centre
All rights reserved.
| Object Name: | TAG, DOG |
|---|---|
| Category: | Tag, Dog |
| Material: | Asbestos fiber |
| Accession Number: | 2021.12.13 |
| Description: | Two military personal identification tags dating from World War II threaded through a single loop of string which was likely originally white but is now yellowing. Both tags are made of an identical light-weight material. One of the tags is a rust-coloured shade of brown. It is shaped like a circle. There is a hole punched into the top of the circle. It is engraved with the following on one side: G-11026 P.R. TRENHOLM U.C. CDN The other tag is a lighter shade of brown. It is in the shape of a stretched-out octagon. There are two circular holes punched into the tag, one at the top and one at the bottom. It has an identical engraving as the circular tag. |
| Narrative: | These ID tags belonged to Percy Reginald Trenholm, a former mayor of Sackville and father of the donor, Charlie Trenholm. According to his Discharge Certificate, Percy enrolled in the Canadian Army on November 4, 1940 in Saint John. His number was G-11026 and he served as a private in the 3rd (New Brunswick) Coast Brigade, Royal Canadian Artillery. It is listed that he served in "Canada North Atlantic Area: United Kingdom: Central Mediterranean Area: Continental Europe." He received the 1939-45 Star, Italy Star, France and Germany Star, and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp. The reason for his discharge is listed as "To return to Civil Life (On Demobilization)." On at the time of his discharge Percy was aged 29 years and 9 months. Note: According to Wikipedia, the 3rd NB Coast Brigade was based in Saint John and in 1939 trained men to man the coast gun batteries around Saint John to protect the port from German submarines. However, the need for troops overseas resulted in four batteries being dispatched from the unit. Three of these batteries were dispatched to Central Italy (to the "Hitler Line") as part of the liberation of Rome. As Percy's Discharge Certificate says that he served in the Central Mediterranean, we can assume he was part of this effort. The fourth battery was part of the invasion of Normandy. |
| History of Use: | Military ID tags were brought into use by the British Army in 1907. These tags were originally made of aluminum, however this metal became too expensive when WWI started, and in 1914 the British began manufacturing their tags out of asbestos fiber. In April 1916, the British army ordered that each soldier carry two ID tags. The octagonal tag was to be worn around the neck of the soldier while the round tag was to be carried elsewhere on the body of the soldier. The idea behind the two tags was that the octagonal tag would be buried with the soldier if he were to be killed, allow for identification of the body if it were recovered in the future, while the circular tag would be used to notify his unit and next of kin. Canadian World War II identification tags were stamped with the following information: regimental number, the soldier's name, his religion (the U.C. on this tag stands for United Church), and the abbreviation for Canadian, CDN. Note that there were 13 military districts in Canada, each of which was assigned with a number from A to M. The G on this tag therefore corresponds to Military District 7, which was comprised of the entire province of New Brunswick. |
| Length: | 3.8 cm |
| Width: | 3.3 cm |
| Institution: | Boultenhouse Heritage Centre |
| Institution City: | Sackville |
| Institution Province: | New Brunswick |