tybaltstone Posted 27 November , 2004 Share Posted 27 November , 2004 I have posted elsewhere about my great-grandfather, Charles Hodgkins, who served with the North Staffordshires at Gallipoli. On his service papers it notes that he has a tattoo, and I wondered: a) If anyone knew if the design had any significance It might be interesting to hear about others' tattoos, and their significance, if any. Charles Hodgkins had 'crossed hands & heart inside left forearm, horses head inside right forearm'. I've often wondered if this was something done right before he joined up, or if it was done well before the war (he was 23 when he joined up). I did a search and noted a couple of other tatto threads, but they were quite old and the topic meandered a little, so hope it's okay to start afresh here. Look forward to what anyone has to say. - Garen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyDick Posted 27 November , 2004 Share Posted 27 November , 2004 On some WW1 Navy (of course) records, tattoos as follow: 'Small cross' tattooed on left forearm. 'Floral designs' on both arms (my g-grandfather). I'm sure I've some others... Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbie Posted 27 November , 2004 Share Posted 27 November , 2004 RIchard, Why were/are tatoos so popular with Navy servicemen, and not just those in the GW either? Robbie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeppoSapone Posted 27 November , 2004 Share Posted 27 November , 2004 I'm told that both of my grandfathers had a tattoo of their regimental badge, done in WW1. One did for sure, but I never saw my fathers' father with his sleeves rolled up! There was also a linked "hands across the sea" theme popular with emigrants. I have just found that "Hands Across the Sea" was also a march written by Sousa, but I don't know "which came first". This "linked hands" frequently appears on postcards etc and, iirc, was also used as a tattoo. See here for postcard example: http://www.stevengraphs.com/hanacseaun.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyDick Posted 27 November , 2004 Share Posted 27 November , 2004 Robbie Tattooing was well established in Polynesia/Pacific region when the first British sailors spent much time there from the 18thC. onwards (e.g Captain Cook at Tahiti). I would suggest it was at first - aside from personal preference - a permanent, tangible mark that a sailor with a tattoo had travelled to the area and thus was an experienced matelot, in the age of sail when there was no uniform and badges and medals to denote service. Soon enough this practice spread throughout a minority of those within the Navy, so much so that in major naval towns there were tattooists' shops springing up in the late 18thC. And, excluding the above conjecture, there is also the ubiquitous 'sounded like a good idea when I was pissed-up on a run ashore' school of thought. And then there are the famous ladyboys of Singapore... where, for a giggle, a newly arrived 16 y.o. Boy sailor was set up with a he-she by his older brother and his mates. Not wanting to disclose that he had not lost his cherry with her the night before or at least gotten to the stage when he could tell the true gender, the Boy announced to his brother and his mates that he had gone all the way with her and greatly enjoyed it: so much so that he wanted to get married. As you can imagine, until the truth came out his messmates were more shocked than he, but could not let slip since they had set him up ... Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Light Posted 27 November , 2004 Share Posted 27 November , 2004 Why were/are tatoos so popular with Navy servicemen, and not just those in the GW either? I think that tattoos were popular with men in the regular army as well. A while ago I had access to the Examination Book of the West Sussex Constabulary, and was checking the personal details of police officers who died in the Great War. The police were keen to recruit ex-servicemen, and of the 20 men I looked at, 8 were ex-regular army, and one ex-navy. Of those nine, 7 had tattoos, compared with none of the 13 men who had been employed in civilian life only. They included: Eagle and snake 'W.F.' and anchor Flowers, bird girl and king Faith, Hope, Charity and rose Forget-me-nots and 'Hilda' Flower and 'TROTT' All these were on arms, but one adventurous soul [army] had: Eagle on chest, snake on right leg and various marks on both arms. The first man I ever tried to research was my great uncle. He was a pre-war regular with the Oxfordshire Light Infantry, and then enlisted under an assumed name in the Great War. He was still single when he died in 1916, but his tattoos were 'O.L.I.' and 'Lucy.' The first is obvious, but I've often wondered who Lucy was, and what became of her - one of life's mystery's. Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadawwi Posted 27 November , 2004 Share Posted 27 November , 2004 Love... (Punch comic, 1918) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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