More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A military dog tag, potentially dating from the early 1950s, has been discovered by a metal detectorist who wants to reunite it with its rightful owner.
Emma Pierce, 29, was scouting through a cabbage field with other enthusiasts on an organised dig in Shepherdswell near Dover when her XP Deus started beeping.
What she found was a curious military relic that she says could be "very sentimental" to its owner or his or her family. So she came to Kentonline to help her track them down.
The animator from Hawley, near Dartford, said: "I was probably on the field for a couple of hours already and was just thinking I would start to get ready to go home when I found it there under the cabbage leaves.
"I didn't have to dig it out, it was just there looking at me."
It was what Ms Pierce, a detectorist of six years, has learned to call a surface find, although in this case it was her trusty four-year-old device that did the actual finding.
The disc displays the name Stupples. It has the letters CE, indicating the Church of England, and the soldier's identity number, unique to that man or woman.
It does not include the initials or blood type common on today's tags.
According to the Western Front Association, the red and green tags brought in to military use in the First World War were replaced by stainless steel tags around the 1960s.
Since her discovery on Saturday, October 17, Ms Pierce has researched the tag and from the identity number, she believes it was issued between July 1951 and June 1955.
But because of data privacy laws, that's where her research on the owner stops.
She said: "After the Second World War, it is hard to get information because these people could still be alive.
"I didn't have to dig it out, it was just there looking at me..."
"There is no information on Ancestry, none on Forces War Records and I am not able to apply for the records from the MOD because I do not know the soldier's full name, date of birth nor do I hold a death certificate for this person."
She has researched the Census for Shepherdswell and discovered a family named Stupples resided in the village a few roads away from the field. But the census information only goes as far as 1929 and she is in the dark over whether the family, or their ancestors continue to live there.
She said: "I would love to be able to give this back to the family it belongs to.
"Having an interest in history, if anyone found something that belongs to my family, I'd be overjoyed.
"It's possible he could still be alive or he may have children if he is not still alive. Hopefully we can return it to them because it could be very sentimental to them.
"It's such a personal item, it doesn't really belong to me."
If you think this could be your dog tag, or if you are a member of the Stupples family from Shepherdswell and have information on the identity of the owner, please call 07730 093865 or email brobson@thekmgroup.co.uk and we will arrange for its return to your family.
