Kookabat,
If Reg doesn't mind...........
To sign the pledge was to go teetotal. No alcohol at all. Usually done by the Methodists in the UK, and, literally, meant signing a document pledging not to partake of the booze.
My maternal Grandfathers pledge is in my possession, he signed it at the age of 12. However, he totally ignored it from being 17. I often wonder which side of the family I take after.......................