Idenification disc
Category
Metalwork
Date
1931 - 1939 - 1939 - 1944
Materials
Metal, Sterling silver
Order this imageCollection
Clandon Park, Surrey
NT 1441162
Summary
[Destroyed in the fire of 2015] Small metal identification disc engraved 'Captain Lord Cranley 62554 C. of E' Identity tag / bracelet worn by the 6th Earl of Onslow.
Full description
Metal (sterling silver) identity bracelet / tag worn by William Arthur Bampfylde Onslow, known as Captain Cranley (later 6th Earl of Onslow), when he was a soldier in the 1939-45 war. Worn on the wrist at all times, the metal bracelet includes an engraving of the wearer's name ' Captain Lord Cranley', his unique army number '62554' and religion ' C. of E.' denoting Church of England. Onslow joined the Life Guards in 1931 and resigned his commission in 1938. After war broke out in 1939 he first joined the Territorial Army and spent the early years of the war in the Western Desert where he was awarded the Military Cross (1942). Commanding a regiment of the 4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters), Onslow led them in the British invasion of Italy. Recalled to England, Onslow and his regiment joined the preparations to liberate France in the D-Day landings in 1944. Captured in an advance, Onslow spent the last months of the war as a German prisoner-of-war.
Provenance
Purchased in 1986 with the aid of a grant from the V&A Museum Purchase Grant Fund and the Monument Trust
Marks and inscriptions
Capt. Lord Cranley; number; C of E