Williams, Joshua (2018-12-19). "The History of Dog Tags". Medals of America - Military Blog . Retrieved 2022-01-24. Today’s British Army tags are made out of non magnetic surgical stainless steel and two tags are issued. One of the tags hangs on a long 24-inch chain and the other on a short 4.5-inch chain. The tags are inscribed with your blood group, service number, surname, initials and religion and are only issued to the troops when they are on active service. Are you a veteran who lost his Dog Tags years ago? We can make you a new set that look almost identical to your originals depending on when you served. We also offer a Veteran discount! Memorial Keepsakes The British Armed Forces currently use two circular non-reflecting stainless steel tags, referred to as "ID Disks", engraved with the following 'Big 5' details:

Manufacturers of identification badges recognized a market and began advertising in periodicals. Their pins were usually shaped to suggest a branch of service, and engraved with the soldier's name and unit. Machine-stamped tags were also made of brass or lead with a hole and usually had (on one side) an eagle or shield, and such phrases as "War for the Union" or "Liberty, Union, and Equality". The other side had the soldier's name and unit, and sometimes a list of battles in which he had participated. [7] Franco-Prussian War [ edit ] As may be imagined, this stop-gap solution was far from ideal as it could be difficult to break the disc by hand and, even if that was accomplished; a straight break was even more difficult. Therefore, in November 1916 (Prussian War ministry regulation 1727/8 16B of 16th November 1916 ), a new pattern disc was introduced in which the “split line” was stamped into the disc upon manufacture. This 1916 disc (though there was a very slight change to these discs proposed in a War ministry communiqué dated 16th September 1917 * (2377/8.17 B3 Nr 903) which suggested slight sizing changes and also a change to the spacings of perforations, enabling a stronger construction to the disc. An extra hole to facilitate the gathering of numerous ‘break-off’ portions was also added – though this feature can also be found on some 1916 pattern discs too) was to see the German Army throughout the remainder of the war (though all other patterns can also be encountered to the very end) and, with slight alterations (such as personal detail being dropped in 1926), throughout the Second World War also. The legacy of this pattern disc still survives in many of the modern armies today.

Cucolo, Ginger. "Dog Tags: History, Stories & Folklore of Military Identification". The Library of Congress Webcasts. The Library of Congress . Retrieved 2016-03-30. Never being called such in regulations, the "dog tag" has forever imprinted itself on the serving individual's mind and the tag they wear.

Aluminium, These chains look very similar to the steel chains but have a lower breaking strength, This can be useful if the tags are being worn in a situation where they may get caught on something and injure the wearer. The Mexican Army uses two long identity tags, very similar to the ones used in the United States Army. They are rectangular metal tags with oval ends, embossed with name, serial number, and blood type, plus Rh factor. Religious designation [ edit ] Custom tags showing Atheist/ FSM as religion, made in response to a US Army representative refusing to print 'Atheist' on official dog tags. Custom dog tags are permitted as long as they adhere to US Army regulations.Army identification number ("mispar ishi", literally "personal number". A seven-digit number that is different from the nine-digit identification number for citizens). A book entitled “Das Preussische Militar-Sanitatswesen und seine Reform nach der Kriegserfahrung von 1866 ” by the Royal Prussian Surgeon-General, Dr.Loeffler mentions the possible uses of a metal identity tag in the treatment of wounded soldiers (along with the uses of being able to positively identify battlefield dead). This work was highly influential and was taken into account the following year. The information is printed exactly the same on both discs. In the event of a casualty, the circular tag is removed from the body.

The initial issue disc of 1878 (the Erkennungsmarke ) utilised surplus Bavarian 1875 pattern discs, but, of course, there were never enough produced to be issued to the entire German military (though examples could still be encountered on issue as late as 1914/15). So if the government had spent just a small amount of money 100 years ago, and issued our troops with metal tags, then perhaps monuments like Thiepval and the Menin Gate would not be so large and although a generation may still have been lost, they would have the proper burial that was ultimately denied them.Retired), Brigadier General Kennard R. Wiggins Jr (DE ANG (2015-09-07). Delaware in World War I. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781625855091. Featuring 36mm X 0.9mm surgical 316 stainless steel tags and MIL spec 304 grade stainless steel chains this tag set uses the highest quality parts. NRIC number (The last digit is an odd number for a male soldier, and an even number for a female soldier.)

Religious denomination stampings on Territorial Force discs (only) were also dropped soon afterwards (though this was rarely adhered to) The former Republic of Rhodesia used two WW2 British-style compressed asbestos fiber tags, a No. 1 octagonal (grey) tag and a No. 2 circular (red) tag, stamped with identical information. The red tag was supposedly fireproof and the grey tag rotproof. The following information was stamped on the tags: Number, Name, Initials, & Religion; Blood Type was stamped on reverse. The air force and BSAP often stamped their service on the reverse side above the blood group. [ citation needed] Russia [ edit ] Russian dog tag In addition to the regular circular dog tags, service personnel may also be issued with an allergy / medical tag.The first ever issue of an official identity tag ( the Recognoscirungsmarke – “recognition tag”) is to the combatant troops of the German Armies of Prussia, the North German Confederation and their allies upon mobilization for the invasion of France (some 883,000 combatants (only 470,000 of whom were “Prussian”) out of a total mobilisation strength of 1,183,000) Dog tag is an informal but common term for a specific type of identification tag worn by military personnel. The tags' primary use is for the identification of casualties; they have information about the individual written on them, including identification and essential basic medical information such as blood type [1] and history of inoculations. They often indicate a religious preference as well. After World War II, the Soviet Army used oval metal tags, similar to today's dog tags of the Russian Armed forces. Each tag contains the title ВС СССР ( Russian for 'USSR Armed Forces') and the individual's alphanumeric number. Gives details on French, Belgian, German etc ID tags, and how they all changed during the First World War Books