Corporal William Gray and his dog tag

William Gray, Corporal, 157th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, Aberdeen.

1. Unofficial dog tag belonging to Corporal William Gray. 1 image.
2. Research notes provided by Alan Sim. 1 image.

I am a numismatist. I have no connection to William Gray other than finding a dog tag in a small box of coins that I bought; the dog tag bears his name. The dog tag is a ‘Replacement Dog Tag’ which was made from a French 10 centime coin. These coins were made over the years 1898 to 1921 and are bronze. The coin now has no date as the reverse face has been ground off then punched to read the following: ‘Cpl. Gray C/157 R.F.A. 4364’. The obverse face still shows the Liberty Head facing right which allows identification of the coin. Dog tag is an informal expression used for identity tags. As I understand it the dog tags that were officially issued were not very robust and were easily lost so soldiers often carried unofficial ones as well.

I am grateful to Alan Sim, of the Gordon Highlanders Museum, Aberdeen, who carried out some research. The dog tag has been identified as belonging to Corporal William Gray of the 157th Brigade Royal Field Artillery, Aberdeen. Alan has also supplied some details of this unit. My hope is that I will be able to trace any descendants that William Gray may have so that I can pass the dog tag on.

1914-1918

Aberdeen, Scotland.

Bill Beattie

Digital Collection Day: 27/02/2019, Gordon Highlanders Museum, Aberdeen.