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Boer War Tattoo - Is it, and why years after?

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  • Boer War Tattoo - Is it, and why years after?

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    I took this photograph of my Grandfather in 1973 the year before he died, and never really thought about the subject matter too much before I got down to serious family tree research a couple of years ago. He was born in 1901 and joined the Lincolnshire regiment just before his 18th birthday in 1919.

    He left in 1924 and had this tattoo done at some time as a young man.

    When I took more notice of the tattoo (it says 'Peace at last' in the scrolls) it appeared to me that it was not celebrating the end of the 1st World War, but the Boer War for some reason. I'm reasonably happy that the figures represent combatants from the British Army and the Boers and have found numerous pictures on the internet of men dressed like these two.
    What I can't understand is why he would have had such a large tattoo of this event when it would have been obvious to him at the time that it was not commemorating the war that had just finished, or anything to do with Europe. He spent three years of his service in India but can't imagine he had it done there choosing an out of date picture to have copied?

    I haven't found anything similar on the internet so far....any experts out there who can give me a clue?
    Researching my family with the surname Clive, and variations/mispellings Clives Cleve, Cleves, Cleeve, Cleeves from the Worcestershire and Wolverhampton areas. Especially various Mezey Clive characters!

  • #2
    Tattoists normally display "stock" designs so maybe he just saw one he liked the look of with a suitably military theme.

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    • #3
      Thanks Gill,

      That's what I thought it must have been at first, but discounted it because the two men depicted are clearly not from his era, and he would have been well aware of all the uniforms worn by both sides in the 1st world war.
      He didn't have any relatives in the Boer war, and although he served in India for three years from 1919, I can't imagine he would have gone for an out of date design. His father served all the way through he 1st world war and survived, so I can imagine that would have been a traumatic time for all of his family but even if he'd had it done then aged 17 or 18 he would have been familiar with his fathers uniform.....still baffled here....

      Les
      Researching my family with the surname Clive, and variations/mispellings Clives Cleve, Cleves, Cleeve, Cleeves from the Worcestershire and Wolverhampton areas. Especially various Mezey Clive characters!

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      • #4
        I've often seen tattoos mentioned on service records, but it's unusual to be able to see someone's actual design, I shall have to see if my sons and husband will let me photograph theirs. Two of them have "off the shelf" designs while the other has bespoke ones.

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        • #5


          an interesting artice here about a tattooist in South Africa

          Edna

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          • #6
            You could have opened up a whole new area of research for an historian. I wonder if the Imperial War Museum would be interested in a copy of the picture for their archives?
            Phil
            historyhouse.co.uk
            Essex - family and local history.

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            • #7
              Hi Edna, Thanks for that....I spent half a day reading about various S.A. tattoists and others....you know how one link leads to another! Didn't have a Eureka moment though.

              Thanks for that idea Keldon, I hadn't thought of asking an historian if this might have been a common thing. I'll be contacting them very soon.....just in case I can peak someones interest.

              Regards,
              Les
              Researching my family with the surname Clive, and variations/mispellings Clives Cleve, Cleves, Cleeve, Cleeves from the Worcestershire and Wolverhampton areas. Especially various Mezey Clive characters!

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