WW1 Soldiers’ Boots: The Secret They Kept Hidden

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The article discusses a grim ‍practice among British soldiers during World War One: they would engrave their names or ⁤service numbers onto metal spoons and hide them in their boots.

this was ⁤done as the standard ID tags of the time were made of a fragile material (fiber) that easily deteriorated or got lost in ‍the harsh conditions of the trenches and “no Man’s Land.” Soldiers feared dying and remaining unidentified amidst the massive casualties – especially after events like the Battle of the Somme, were over 19,000 ‍British soldiers were killed in⁢ a single day. The spoons ⁢offered a more durable method⁢ of identification in the event their bodies were found.