Century-old dog tag returned to owner’s family
A mudlarker has returned a dog tag lost in the River Thames over 100 years ago to the family of the original owner, thanks to family history research.
Jason Sandy found a dog tag bearing the name and address “S SMITH, 13 DELORME ST, FULHAM PALACE RD” on the banks of the Thames while scavenging in the river’s mud.
He shared his discovery on a Facebook group, then fellow mudlarker and family historian Karis Lacy uncovered a Samuel Smith living at 13 Delorme Street at the time of the 1911 census by using Findmypast ( findmypast.co.uk).
Sandy was able to return the tag to Joan Shayers, the widow of Samuel’s grandson Peter, who sent him a thank-you letter and a photograph of Peter as a boy with Samuel and the dog.
Sandy revealed: “That’s very rare for us mudlarks, to actually be able to track down a person associated with the objects that we find in the river.”
“That was one of the best finds I’ve ever made in the Thames, just because I was able to find the descendants of Samuel Smith,” he added.