One of the beautiful things about mudlarking is that you never know where a find will take you. I’ve experienced the thrill of holding a small muddy object in my hand which then goes on to bring to life historical events in the greatest of detail. Many artefacts left out by the Thames at low tide have been an incentive for me to learn miscellaneous information I would never otherwise have known about or even thought about.
Dead Horse Bay, Brooklyn - USA
In May 2022 I visited New York and had the pleasure of going mudlarking at Dead Horse Bay in Brooklyn. I found something there on the shoreline that transported me back to my 11 year old self in the 80s, to a time when I was particularly anxious (to the point of not being able to sleep), about the possibility of a nuclear war. I remember one night very clearly going into my Dad’s bedroom in the middle of the night and waking him up, begging him to reassure me that there would not be a nuclear war. It was hardly surprising really. It was the time of the British Government’s public information campaign “Protect and Survive”, designed to advise the public on how to protect themselves against a nuclear attack. Although I don’t remember actually seeing the leaflet or the broadcasts mentioning it – I absorbed the collective anxiety around me like a sponge.
 |  Protect and Survive was a public information campaign produced by the British Government between 1974 & 1980, advising the public on how to protect themselves during a nuclear attack |
Eventually over time, thankfully, the nuclear fear subsided and new anxieties came to replace that one. I ALWAYS choose good ones that end in certain death. Before setting off on a much awaited canoeing trip in the exquisitely beautiful Algonquin Park in Canada almost 20 years ago, I unfortunately honed in on a small paragraph on a park notice which said “very rarely, black bears stalk humans” (or something very similar to that!). The paragraph seared into my mind (everything apart from the "very rarely" bit), and with a can of bear spray at the ready clipped to my belt I hardly slept for 4 nights. As I lay on my unzipped sleeping bag I ran through my methods of escape for when the time came. It's not that easy either when you're dealing with bears, who can pretty much do everything you can except better and faster. Sharper teeth too. Needless to say I now know that I would have been extremely lucky to even catch a glimpse of a bear, but I was exhausted by the end of the trip. You miss so much of the beauty of what is going on around you when consumed with anxiety.
I was excited about my mudlarking trip to Dead Horse Bay, having heard so much about it. When I first saw the small rectangular piece of metal with a name and address stamped into it, lying on the muddy surface of the beach, I thought (and hoped) that it was a military ID tag. Merrill Kazanjian, the New York detectorist and mudlark that I was with said that he didn’t think it was, and that it was more likely to be a civilian tag. It was a couple of days later when I found out exactly what it was. My fried Alex, a New York mudlark and history hunter, explained that it would have been issued to an American child in the 1950s so that they could be identified if they were injured or if they perished in the event of a nuclear attack.
The School ID tag I found on the beach of Dead Horse Bay, Brooklyn in May 2022
 Metal Identification tags were issued to students in the USA in the 1950s should they need to be identified in the event of a nuclear attack |
I was intrigued and somewhat horrified to hear this. I know that if I had been issued with an ID tag along with the Protect and Survive leaflet back in the 80s, my anxiety would have soared to a whole new level. Holding the tag in my hand I am happy to say that it did not take me back in time to experience the dread I felt back then, but it did make me wonder how it made those American children feel. Alex sent me a piece from the extremely informative "The Forgotten History Blog" about the issuing of the ID tags to children in the USA in the 1950s.
These metal ID tags were first issued in 1952 and New York City's public school system were the first to issue them to 2.5 million children. One chilling piece of information which the author of The Forgotten History Blog mentions is that tattoos had also been considered as a method of ID but with the fact that skin might be burnt and consequently the details illegible, they settled on the metal tag option. Good Lord! Embedded in the blog is this short video, with children explaining why the tags were being issued and encouraging all children to wear them.
Having learned about why this ID tag that I found was issued, all that remained was to see if we could trace the child who once wore it. As we can see, the child was one Robert Luchan, born in 1943 and whose father was called Charles. With these details, and with Robert's address, Alex set about doing some research. He discovered that sadly Robert Luchun passed away in 2006. It wasn’t long though before he provided me with all the details I needed to make contact with the Robert's family.
Robert Luchun's ID tag. It appears that Robert’s surname was misspelled on the tag. All corresponding records refer to Luchun.
When I contacted Pam, Robert’s daughter, I wasn’t at all sure if she would see my message, let alone answer it. I suppose it must be a little strange, receiving a message from someone in another country, claiming to have found a metal ID tag with your father’s name on it, on a beach in Brooklyn, over 70 years after he wore it - miles from where you now live.
But to my delight, Pam answered me. She was somewhat amazed and puzzled as to how I found it but she was also delighted to hear the news. As it happens, she was due to see her Mum, Robert’s wife, that very evening for her own son’s graduation and she couldn’t wait to tell her about the find. "He died 16 years ago but we talk about him daily" she said. "It will make my Mom very happy!”.
Bob's wife kindly sent me photographs of Bob as a child – probably at around about the same age as he would have been when he was wearing his ID tag. She also attended the same school as Bob, St Savior's Brooklyn and was 2 years behind him. She too remembers being issued with a metal ID tag.
But to my delight, Pam answered me. She was somewhat amazed and puzzled as to how I found it but she was also delighted to hear the news. As it happens, she was due to see her Mum, Robert’s wife, that very evening for her own son’s graduation and she couldn’t wait to tell her about the find. "He died 16 years ago but we talk about him daily" she said. "It will make my Mom very happy!”.
Bob's wife kindly sent me photographs of Bob as a child – probably at around about the same age as he would have been when he was wearing his ID tag. She also attended the same school as Bob, St Savior's Brooklyn and was 2 years behind him. She too remembers being issued with a metal ID tag.
 Bob Luchun in 1957 - 8th grade graduation from St Savior's school in Brooklyn - photo courtesy Bob's family
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Mudlarking finds like this are my favourite by far. A find in the mud connects people, evokes memories and brings people to life as their story is told and shared with others. Pam went on to explain that her father went on to become a US coastguard and was a career officer who went all over the world working to clean up oil spills in the water, (such as Valdez in Alaska and spills in Saudi Arabia during desert Storm). It was wonderful to be able to bring Bob Luchan into the limelight and find out about the valuable work he went on to do. Im now very happy to be able to return his ID tag Bob's family.
It’s quite timely that this New York mudlarking find surfaced from the mud at a time when talk of nuclear weapons and nuclear threats have once again bubbled up to the surface. It's made me realise with some relief that I've made great progress in no longer becoming anxious over things that I really have no control over! I have mudlarking in part to thank for that.
Thank you to the Luchun family for allowing me to share Bob’s story. Thanks to Alex for enlightening me on the story of the tags and for the research. Thank you to Merrill Kazanjian of Metal Detecting NYC for taking me to DHB. And thank you to the author of the Forgotten History Blog.
It’s quite timely that this New York mudlarking find surfaced from the mud at a time when talk of nuclear weapons and nuclear threats have once again bubbled up to the surface. It's made me realise with some relief that I've made great progress in no longer becoming anxious over things that I really have no control over! I have mudlarking in part to thank for that.
Thank you to the Luchun family for allowing me to share Bob’s story. Thanks to Alex for enlightening me on the story of the tags and for the research. Thank you to Merrill Kazanjian of Metal Detecting NYC for taking me to DHB. And thank you to the author of the Forgotten History Blog.
With Merrill Kazanjian (YouTube channel MetalDetectingNYC) at Dead Horse Bay Brooklyn - New York. May 2022
You can watch my YouTube video here in which I find Robert Luchun's ID tag and many other treasures:-
