Investigation reunites veteran’s family with dog tags

The family of a war veteran has had a personal item returned thanks to diligent efforts by RCMP and the Kelowna War Museum.

On August 25, 2020 a man located a set of Royal Canadian Air Force dog tags near the intersection of Highway 33 and Dougall Road N in Kelowna. He took the tags to the Kelowna RCMP where an officer began the effort to locate the soldier.

The name on the tags, J.K. Dalgliesh, didn’t result in any leads when run through the regular police checks, so the officer reached out to the Kelowna War Museum for assistance.

A staff member at the museum was able to determine that the initials stood for John Kenneth.

J.K. Dalgliesh served in the European theatre in the Second World War with the Royal Canadian Airforce as a navigator with heavy bombers. His career with the military continued after the war as a Squadron Leader and Training Command Legal Officer in Weyburn Saskatchewan through to 1961. That year, he was appointed Judge Advocate General with National Defense Headquarters.

In 1966 he was transferred to Esquimalt as a Wing Commander and Judge Advocate General for the Western Region. Dalgliesh and his family lived on and off in the Kelowna area, and he was buried here in 1981.

“A lot of digging and research lead our officer to J.K. Dalgaliesh’s daughter who now resides in Calgary. The family doesn’t know how or when his dog tags were lost, but his daughter was delighted to have them returned to her,” said Cpl Jocelyn Noseworthy, media relations officer.

“In the scope of our responsibilities as police officers, this file doesn’t seem like a big deal,” said Supt. Kara Triance, Officer-In-Charge of the Kelowna Regional RCMP. “But being able to return a part of a family’s history to them is a small act of kindness that brightens everyone’s day, especially as we approach Remembrance Day. We commend our officer for his dedication on this investigation, and we’d like to thank our partners at the Kelowna War Museum for all their assistance.”