Round Metal identity disc (WW I) for #1015506, Clerihue, MP, 72nd CEF (Canadian Expeditionary Force). Private Melvin Wilfred King Clerihue, MM enlisted in the 231st Battalion CEF and later transferred to the 72nd Battalion, CEF where he won the Military Medal in the Arras - Scarpe battles in August/September 1918. He arrived in France on 30 November 1917 and became sick two days after the war ended on 13 November 1918. Identification Discs: "The Canadian soldier had a variety of official methods of identification; these were necessary for security reasons in addition to identification. Identification Discs - First World War: ID Discs, sometimes called "dog tags" though this seems to be more of an American term, were the primary means of identifying soldiers who had become casualties. Identification discs were introduced into the British Army in approximately 1907 (when it is first mentioned in official documents). It consisted of a single aluminium disc, with a 42-inch cord. On the disc was stamped Regimental Number, Name, Rank, Regiment and Religion. Discs were to be marked locally, with 1/8-inch steel stamps. By May 1907 the requirement to include rank was abolished. An amendment to order in Apr 1908 permitted units to inventory discs with the regiment's name already stamped on it. Up until early 1914 the standard Identification Disc in British and Canadian service was made of Aluminium. A red fibre disc (described as "non-ferrous, fibre…which resembled linoleum") appeared in the Priced Vocabulary replacing the Aluminium one by Aug 1914. Aluminium discs were quite common, especially in Commonwealth forces, until after 1915. The fibre discs were marked identically to British discs, with the addition of CANADIANS or the abbreviation CDN. Some discs were stamped with half the information on one side, half on the reverse. In April 1916, Army Order 3827 specified that each officer and soldier was to be issued two identity discs.- Disc, Identity, No. 1, Green and Disc, Identity, No. 2, Red The green disc, octagonal in shape, was to be worn around the neck suspended on a cord. The second, red, disc, was to be suspended on another short length of cord, itself suspended from the first cord. The desire was to have one disc remain with the body in the event the soldier was killed. Soldiers already in possession of discs were issued with 6 inches of cord and ordered to adjust their tags in the prescribed manner. No orders were immediately issued on the reasoning for the new tags, and an amplification had to be issued in Oct 1916, specifying that the green tag was to be buried with fatal casualties. In the event a body could be reached but not brought back for burial, the red disc was to be removed to allow for proper notification of unit and next of kin, with the upper disc remaining with the body to ensure proper identification when the body was in a position to be recovered." LINK ALL OF THE CLERIHUE DONATIONS TOGETHER. SOME OF THEM HAVE NOT BEEN ACCESSIONED.