Another Andy’s Rubbish and Ramblings for you, firstly, best wishes for the New Year to everyone.
Here is my first find for 2025, it’s half if a German ID tag ( erkennugmarken), I believe of the late 1916/1917 type.
Identity tags may be a rather common, however they are all individually unique. These were issued to one person and recorded their service in respect of the various regiments they were attached to. Some people may have been issued a number of tags throughout their service as the tags could only carry a certain amount of information. There were also numerous types/styles of tags throughout their evolution.
Here we have a tag ( half a tag) that popped up in rural New Zealand, it was recently discovered in a box of miscellaneous items in a house that the occupiers have lived in for forty years or so. I believe the box was amongst the detritus left behind by previous owners so it’s a little hard to determine exactly where it came from . In all reality, I think the tag would have been a WW1 bring back, part of a Kiwi soldiers keepsakes. Why keep an enemy dog tag? Could Felix have been a POW? Could he possibly have befriended a Kiwi serviceman at some time? Or was their other significance to the person that brought this item half way around the world ? The same person that kept it tucked away for so long where it miraculously survived for the last 107 years without being tossed out? At some stage it was definitely kept safely, then as the custodian passed on, it survived and possibly ended up in the box it was recently discovered in. The lady that found it, thankfully thought it may be of done historical interest, I was able to identify the item for her and after a local museum turning it down, the tag came to me.
Being only half of the tag doesn’t bode well for the original owner, a Felix Renner of Landeshut. However, it’s just as likley that this was a complete ID tag that has been broken in half at some stage of its journey through time. Felix was born on the 4th of July 1898, so only a young chap of 18 years of age in 1916. Like so many young people sent off to fight in a war they probably never understood.
My uneducated assessment is Herr Renner was trained as a new recruit with the 1st Ersatz Batallion, Infantry Regiment 136, sent as a replacement to Infantry Regiment 439, 2nd Company ( N.25? Not sure on that) then went onto bolster Infantry Regiment 466, in the 9th Company (No 337, again this eludes me).
Felix’s home town ( Landeshut) was, I believe part of the Prussian empire, becoming part of Poland post WW1, annexed during the third reich era and becoming part Russian territory post WW2, so rather a tumultuous history.
If anyone has any more insight into the history of Felix Renner and his service, any input would be appreciated.
From Martin Rupp
He was born in Landeshut, today Kamienna Góra, Polen. No Felix Renner from there is to be found in the Verlustlisten, not WIA, KIA or POW
The numbers 25 and 337 are the consecutive numbers of the entries in the Kriegsstammrollen. If those still existed for these regiments, the numbers would guide you to the correct entries for that Felix Renner
Felix Renner geriet am 04.11.1918 bei Le Quesnoy in Gefangenschaft, siehe:
Ilka Schnobowski https://media.grandeguerre.icrc.org/…/C_G1_D_05_01_0176…
Was in hospital for diarrhea during captivity.
Location: 2nd stationary hospital in France.
Landsturm.
Father or brother named Gustav
Address Ring 27 in Landeshut.
The other file shows 2D: 4th pow depot company, France.
So Felix was taken prisoner at Le Quesnoy 4/11/18, this ties into a significant part of New Zealand’s own First World War history.
The Le Quesnoy Story
After four long years of German occupation, on the 4th of November 1918 the citizens of Le Quesnoy were finally freed by New Zealand soldiers.
This liberation of the walled town by ladder was a feat so unusual it even made the New York Times.
The New Zealanders did not fire over the ramparts, preserving civilian lives within the town. While there was New Zealand loss of life fighting for the freedom of the French, not one citizen of the town died in the battle
A big thank you to everyone that has contributed to this very interesting post, it’s an amazing bit of history.