Les Skuse - Tattoo Visionary

Born in 1912 in the port town of Bristol, England. He became the town’s most famous tattoo export and was almost as well known in the United States and across the world, as he was at home. He learned to tattoo in 1928 from Joseph Hartley. He worked with him until enlisting in the Royal Artillery during WWII. Afterwards, he went back to Bristol and opened his own tattoo shop. He helped form the British Guild of Tattooing and the Bristol Tattoo Club. In 1955 he was voted the Champion Tattoo Artist of All England. He passed away in 1973.

The Skuse family have a rich heritage in the art of tattooing, beginning with Les. The right-handed Skuse started his tattoo career in 1928 at the shop of Joseph Hartley, who was probably Bristol’s one and only tattoo artist before Skuse. Hartley was a long time tattooist/supplier in this area and was located at 2 Blackfields, near Stokes Croft, Bristol, England.

Skuse stated: “Professor Joe Hartley fixed me up with a Japanese hand tattooing outfit, and began to work on some of my friends. It was not long before I had earned the price of a six-volt combination tattoo machine.”

Skuse is said to have stayed with Hartley until World War II, when he enlisted in the Royal Artillery. After five years of tattooing the troops, he got out, settled back into Bristol and opened his first shop.Through his years of tattooing he gained recognition in Bristol and abroad, Les Skuse was ultimately awarded the title of Champion Tattoo Artist of all England for his advancements in tattoo artistry and techniques. He visited the United States in 1956 and corresponded with many American tattooists. He was a big admirer of the Coleman School of tattooing as practiced by Paul Rodgers, Huck Spaulding, Al Schiefley and others. In 1956, Skuse stated in a letter: “English tattooists were using a single needle. This caused a lot of bleeding and pain. This finished design looked very thin and scratchy when compared with the strong, well-shaded designs done in the United States.”

In 1953 Les founded the Bristol Tattoo Club. Its ambition was profound; to raise awareness about tattooing as an art form, and improve standards in British body art. Les created a global network of tattoo artists and enthusiasts, laying the foundations for what would become the modern tattoo community.

Undoubtedly two of the major accomplishments that etched Les Skuse’s name into tattoo history were the formation of the British Guild of Tattooing and the Bristol Tattoo Club. These organizations were given worldwide publicity by both the British and overseas presses, and kept Skuse in the limelight during the 1950s. Riding on this wave of popularity, Les was voted the Champion Tattoo Artist of All England in 1955. The next few years brought an international exchange of tattoo ideas, with Skuse visiting the U.S., and Milton Zeis and Al Schiefley visiting England.

Les Skuse was located in at least three different storefronts in Bristol; 57 and 97 Lower Ashley Road, and 71 Mina Road. When Les Skuse died in 1973, Les Skuse Junior (Danny) took over the Mina Road shop, Les Senior’s other son Billy was tattooing in Aldershot, Hampshire, alongside his wife Rusty Skuse, who was featured in the Guinness Book Of Records for being the most tattooed woman in England. Rusty was also a tattooist and known the world over. Danny worked up to 1990 when he retired from the day to day running of the studio. He did however decide to work along side his lifelong friend Ron Ackers of Portsmouth and traveled around the world working at conventions.

Danny's son, Jimmie, started tattooing over 30 years ago when he worked alongside his father at the age of thirteen. Jimmie established the Temple Street shop in 2004. Jimmie is the Grandson of Les Skuse.

The legendary tattooist, and founder of the Sandusky Tattoo Club,  Al Schiefley lived and worked out of Sandusky, Ohio where he opened his famous Pearl Street shop that dutifully operated for over a quarter of a century.  The photo above was taken back in mid 1950s during Al’s travels abroad, and shows him seemingly double-teaming a well-inked young lady (with a strange sense of humor) alongside his host and fellow tattoo master — Les Skuse, President of the famed Bristol Tattoo Club.  While in Bristol, Al had the honor of being tattooed by Skuse, as well as the respected London tattooist, Rich Mingins.

“I have always been ready and willing to learn, never thinking I knew it all and continually searching for ways in which to improve my work and equipment. It is my firm belief that the more tattooists meet, correspond and exchange ideas, the better it will be both for the individual and the profession.” - Les Skuse

1950s pic of Les Skuse and members of the
Bristol Tattoo Club shows them holding their club’s
calling card. For recognition purposes, every member
is secretly inked somewhere on their body with
the club insignia — a black bat.

Les had the original idea in 1951, but it wasn't until 1953 that the Club was formally started. Les wanted to heighten the awareness of the good in tattooing, in the process getting away from the general misconception that only 'bad people' or armed forces wore tattoos. Les wanted the BTC to promote and set a higher standard of tattooing (of which he did more in later years with the British Guild of Professional Tattoo Artists.

Les wanted not only tattoo artists (not that there were many in those days), but tattoo fans alike to show off their bodies and wear their inkwork with pride. He envisaged a meeting where artists and customers could meet, mingle, make new friends and share stories and methods.

The first ever tattoo convention was held at the White Horse public house in Lower Ashley Road, Bristol. Les soon realised that the venue was not going to be big enough, so the following year, he moved it to the Cornish Mount Club in Pennywell Road. This is the venue where most of the photographs were taken that you now see in books and on the internet.

Les was very fortunate in that a couple of years earlier, an amateur photographer called Harrold Smart called into Les's studio and asked if he could take some pictures of the outside of Les's shop. The two men got into a conversation, and the rest is history.

Harry continued taking pictures for the next 15 years or so, attending most, if not all, of the Bristol conventions. Les was getting a great deal of attention from the press, and had lots of great artists attending from all parts of the world, including Al Schiefley, Huck Spaulding, Milton Zeis, Tattoo Peter, Albert Cornelious, Jimmy Thompson, Rich Mingins, Jessie Knight, Art Cail and Ron Ackers.

The BTC itself had lots of famous tattoo artists that were members, not only the ones previously mentioned, including Sailor Jerry Collins, Tattoo Jack, Leslie Burchett, Charlie Snow, Lyle Tuttle, Doc Forbes, Doc Webb, Bert Grim and many, many more.

Les visited the USA and took the BTC over to Sandusky Ohio, where President Al Schiefley organised the very first get together of his new Sandusky Tattoo Club. This was the first tattoo convention in the USA, in 1956. Artists attending in those days included DC Paul, Huck Spaulding, Paul Rodgers, Milton Zeis and many more. These conventions were running way before the so-called 1970 first USA convention. These tattoo artists were forefathers who had pioneered the way for the tattoo artists of the future.

Les Skuse ran the BTC until his death in 1973, when his Son Danny (Les Skuse Jr) took over the Presidency. During this time it was featured in a lot of publications, but was not hitting the heights to which Les had taken it. Danny handed the over the reigns to the latest President Jimmie Skuse, who has started to transform the Bristol Tattoo Club back to its glory days.

In 2013, Jimmie and the Bristol Tattoo Club was invited over to the States by Troy Timpel, who runs the Philadelphia convention, to have a booth and to create the first large get together of Bristol Tattoo Club members since the last trip in 1956. Over 100 members attended, and in the process the BTC made it to CBS News and was featured in lots of publications, keeping the tradition alive.

On returning to England, Jimmie received a great deal of enquiries from fans and fellow tattoo artists, all keen to join the Bristol Tattoo Club.

Bristol Tattoo Club continues to thrive with tattooist members all over the globe. To join online is the easiest way at http://www.bristoltattooclub.co.uk/. More conventions will be attended by the BTC, where new and old members alike can meet and greet one another, and keep what is the oldest tattoo club in the world strongly alive - keeping it history and not a mystery.