Busselton Historical Society > Records

Identity Disc - issued to W J McConnell

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Marine

Military

Overview

Round brown leather disc with imprinted text. a small hole punched through the disc

Historical information

COMPRESSED FIBRE IDENTITY DISC – WORLD WAR 1

At the start of World War I, the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) issued identity discs made of aluminium, worn around the neck and engraved with soldiers’ details. If an Australian soldier was found deceased, their disc and paybook were taken for record, but this posed a problem as no identification remained with the body for burial. To address this, a two-disc system was introduced in late 1916. Troops received a green hexagonal disc and a red circular disc, with the red disc to be removed from the body and the green left behind. These discs were made of compressed fibre, which decomposed quickly in the weather conditions on the Western Front.

In World War II, the same system was used, but the fibre discs struggled in the wet environments of the Pacific. Complaints led to the introduction of stainless-steel discs, initially issued only to Royal Australian Air Force personnel, as replacements for the fibre discs.

The discs were stamped with the soldier's name, service or regimental number, religion, and unit.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-124-2026.086

Item type

Badges

Themes

Defence > Navy

Material

Leather

Width

38 mm

Inscriptions and markings

Inscriptions at front of disc:

"W J McConnell
RNVR
BRISTOL
Z/2410
CE"

Contextual information

This red identity disc was issued to Walter John McConnell (Z/2410). Born in 1900 in Towerfield, Bristol, England, Walter enlisted in 1918 with the Royal Navy and trained for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) at HMAS Victory VI, which specialised in signalling, wireless telegraphy and engineering. He then served as a clerk at HMS President IV, a shore base that handled personnel management (ie administration, payroll, accounts).

After WW1, Walter worked as a bank clerk for the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank in London, and at the end of WW2 lived and worked for the same bank in Java. It is interesting to note that his uncle was a London stockbroker.

Walter moved to Australia with his wife Aileen, and electoral rolls had them living in Siesta Park in 1968 and Wattle Street, Busselton in 1980. Walter died on 21 April 1986 and was cremated at Bunbury Cemetery

Keywords

Royal Navy

World War 1

Primary significance criteria

Historic significance

Last modified

Sunday, 5 April, 2026

Completeness

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