Octagonal Dog tag - "Rife P.E. Bapt [Baptist] 130100 72 CANS. NOTE: The identity disk should read "S.E. RIFE" for Samuel Edward RIFE. 130100 Private Samuel E. Rife arrived with the 72nd Battalion to France on 13 August 1916 and was wounded at Vimy Ridge on 9 April, 1917. Immediately prior to the introduction of identity discs into the British Army, individual identification was satisfied by the issue of a printed identity card which remained in the possession of the soldier while in service. This card, (Army Form B 2067) was surrendered when the soldier entered into the Reserves, with the intent of re?issue should the soldier be called back to active service. Needless to say, the card itself suffered the typical hardships of rough use and was often indecipherable when needed to identify its owner. The first mention of identity discs appears in January, 1907 when a single aluminum disc, fitted with a 42 inch cord, was approved for use on mobilization. Instructions stated that the discs were to be kept ready marked, showing the soldier's number, name, rank, regiment and religion. The use of the soldier's rank on the disc required that a new disc be issued with every promotion. The marking of the disc was to be done locally and units were to indent for 1/8 inch steel stamps. The orders do not state either the religions or the approved abbreviations which could be used. By May, 1907 an amendment addressed the use of the soldiers rank on the discs by removing the requirement. The illustrated sample also did away with the smaller scripted letters for the abbreviation to regiment. The second pattern ID disc disposed of the rank as well as the smaller characters for both rank and Regiment - which required a second set of smaller stamps. A further amendment, introduced in April, 1908 allowed for the discs to be stored with the regiment's name already stamped. The soldier's name, number and religion would be added upon mobilization. At some point, near the beginning of World War 1, the disc, previously manufactured in aluminum, was replaced with a red disc. This disc was manufactured of a non?ferrous, fibre compound which resembled linoleum. The marking of the discs in Canada was identical to that of Great Britain, with the addition of the word 'CANADIANS' or the abbreviation 'CDN'. It is not unusual to find the discs marked with the information equally divided between the two sides. The identity disc remained unchanged until 1916 when it was decided by the War Office that a disc should remain with the remains while a second disc was removed and used in the computation of battle fatalities. Until the Great War, the remains of soldiers killed on active duty could be buried in situ, or removed to a central burial site by the Regiment. With the static warfare of the trenches and the requirement to move the remains to a central burial ground, the introduction of a second disc was a logical step. Army Order 3287, of April, 1916 instructed that each officer and soldier would be issued two identity discs. The upper, octagonal, disc was to be known as "Disc, Identity, No.1, Green" and was to be worn around the neck. The second, "Disc, Identity, No. 2, Red" was then suspended from the first. By the end of the First World War soldiers were issued with two discs - one of which remained with the body in case of death. The green disc was issued with six inches of cord and the soldier was expected to remove his red disc, substitute it (in the upper position) with the new green disc and then suspend the red disc in the lower position. No mention was made in these orders of the procedure to be followed, and the resulting confusion led to a clarification, issued in October, 1916; The upper disc, known as "Disc, identity, No.1, green" will not be removed but will be buried with the body. Consequently, in cases where a body can be reached and identified but cannot be brought back for burial, the lower disc will be removed, to ensure proper notification of death, while the upper disc will remain as a safeguard against loss of identity when it becomes possible to bury.