Janet Skuse (née Field; 20 December 1943 – 12 July 2007), known as Rusty Skuse, was renowned as the most tattooed woman in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

Biography

Skuse, a driver in the

Women's Royal Army Corps The Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC; sometimes pronounced acronymically as , a term unpopular with its members) was the corps to which all women in the British Army belonged from 1949 to 1992 except medical, dental and veterinary officers and chap ...

based at

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

in Hampshire, had her first tattoo aged 17 in 1961, which resulted in her being put on a charge. By 1964 she had 62 tattoos and was becoming widely known. Soon she was spending more than half her

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

pay on getting more tattoos from her future husband, Bill Skuse, at his studio in the

amusement arcade An amusement arcade, also known as a video arcade, amusements, arcade, or penny arcade (an older term), is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, mercha ...

in Aldershot's High Street. She turned down an offer from a showman in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

to become a tattooed attraction; however, the offer convinced her to get tattooed completely. Using £100 given to her by her mother as a 21st birthday present, Skuse spent the money on more tattoos, much to her mother's consternation.

Recognition

For over twenty years she appeared in the ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

'' as Britain's most tattooed woman. At one time there was a life-sized waxwork of her displayed outside 'The Guinness World of Records' exhibition at the Trocadero in

Piccadilly, London Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...

. She trained under her husband to become a

tattoo artist A tattoo artist (also tattooer or tattooist) is an individual who applies permanent decorative tattoos, often in an established business called a "tattoo shop", "tattoo studio" or "tattoo parlour". Tattoo artists usually learn their craft via an ...

in her own right. On their retirement Bill and Rusty Skuse opened a boarding kennel and stray dogs home in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. Rusty Skuse returned to tattooing for a period, running a private tattooing studio in

Dereham Dereham (), also known historically as East Dereham, is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of the England, English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A47 road, about west of the city of Norwich ...

, Norfolk. In 1979 she was the subject of a documentary titled ''Second Skin''.

Death

Skuse died in 2007, following a long battle with kidney disease.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skuse, Rusty 1943 births 2007 deaths Artists from Aldershot Deaths from kidney disease Women's Royal Army Corps soldiers People known for being heavily tattooed

Biography

Recognition

Death

See also

References