'RIP to the Memory of an Unknown British Soldier', Sapper artwork, 1914-18
Description
An illustrated poem by one of the Royal Engineers of the Royal Monmouthshire Regiment to commemorate a fallen comrade. It tells of a soldier killed by a shell, whose identity could not be ascertained due to the severity of his injuries and the loss of his identity discs.
Identity tags were a relatively recent innovation in the British army at that time. Prior to 1906, soldiers had employed various methods for identification of their bodies should the worst happen. The First World War was the first in which soldiers wore standard issue identity tags, stamped with their name, army number and faith.
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