This fascinating First World War identification tag was discovered near the site of the former Tadworth military training camp in Surrey, an area used extensively during the Great War to train soldiers before they were sent to the front lines in Europe. Over the years, this land has produced a remarkable range of military artefacts including cap badges, buttons, coins and personal items connected to the men who once trained there.
At first glance, this piece appears to be a simple German One Mark coin, but closer inspection reveals a far more personal story. The coin may originally have been brought back from the front as a battlefield souvenir or trophy before being carefully repurposed by a British soldier into an improvised identity tag. Two drilled holes show where it would once have hung from a chain around the owner’s neck.
One side still displays the Imperial German eagle, while the reverse has been filed smooth and engraved with the name:
“S. Leeman, 102 Farringdon Road”
Beneath this, faintly visible, are the letters “E.C.”, believed to stand for Church of England.
Research suggests this may relate to Sam Leeman, who operated a fried fish shop at that very London address before the war. If so, this small object becomes an incredibly personal link to a man who may have left behind his family, business and ordinary life to serve his country during one of history’s darkest conflicts.
Perhaps this German coin travelled across the battlefields of Europe before eventually returning home with its new owner, only to be lost years later on the Surrey training grounds where soldiers once prepared for war.
Finds like this remind us that metal detecting is not just about uncovering objects, but rediscovering the human stories connected to them.
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