In 1849, the body of an unknown man was found drowned in San Francisco Bay. The only available signs for his identification were the emblems of an Entered Apprentice tattooed on his left arm and the emblems of a Fellow Craft on his right arm. On his left breast were the Lights of Masonry and over his heart was the pot of incense.
    Other tattoos of masonic symbols found elsewhere on his body were the beehive, the sword and heart, the all-seeing eye, the hourglass, sun, moon, stars and comet, the three steps, together with a weeping virgin and Father Time with his scythe.
    The body, although apparently never identified, was given a masonic burial – the first such burial to occur in California which had only the year before passed from Mexican to United States ownership.
    When I read this strange piece of information, I wondered, what induces a man or woman to have their bodies decorated as if they were made of canvas? It soon became clear that there is a great deal of discrimination is involved in choosing to be tattooed. Once a competent and talented tattoo artist is identified, the choice becomes unending: poignant black and white tattoos can be as effective as intricate multicoloured and menacing dragons; a delicate flowery Japanese depiction seems to comfortably blend with fiery and devilish designs of hell on earth. And throughout every theme, the symbolic prevails; and it is here that the masonic connection occurs.
    Browsing through the design books of tattoo shops in London, I kept coming across emblems which were readily interpreted as masonic. Oddly, the Square and Compasses were nowhere to be found but the all-seeing eye, stars in their many manifestations, geometric circles, squares and triangles, emblems of life and death, columns and leaves and doves and open books occurred, ad infinitum. The tattooists themselves had no idea of the masonic significance of the emblems concerned and I was only sorry that one Mr. Alfred South, of Pall Mall, London SW, appeared to have gone out of business a long time ago.

Royal tattoos

Alfred South styled himself as a "Tattoo Artist", claiming to have been "patronised by Royalty, Officers of His Majesty’s Services and leading members of Society". On those grounds, South, who was not in the Craft, solicited Freemasons to have "masonic jewels, badges and emblematic designs artistically and accurately etched on the skin".
    His reference to Royalty being tattooed was not a hollow claim. Stephen Gilbert, author of Tattoo History, reports that tattooing gained royal sanction in 1862 when the Prince of Wales, on a visit to the Holy Land, had the Jerusalem Cross tattooed on his arm. Later, in 1868, he was initiated into Freemasonry and, in 1875, was appointed Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England. He continued in this office until his accession to the throne in 1901 as King Edward VII. In later life he acquired a number of additional tattoos. It would be gratifying to know whether any of the several unidentified tattoos on the King’s body revealed masonic symbolism. Alas, discretion prevails and the Jerusalem Cross is the only design we know of.
    It is not clear whether his son, the Duke of York – later King George V – at the tender age of 16, alone precociously decided to employ a Japanese practitioner to tattoo a large blue and red dragon on his right arm. Perhaps his father, the Prince of Wales, arranged for George, and his brother, the Duke of Clarence, to visit the studio of the celebrated tattoo master Hori Chiyo during their royal visit to Japan in 1882. It has also been reported that on the way back to England the two young dukes visited Jerusalem and were tattooed by the same artist who had tattooed their father twenty years before.
    English royalty is far from being an exception. Alexander I, King of Yugoslavia in 1921, had a large eagle tattooed on his chest. King Alfonso XIII of Spain, bore the sign of the cross tattooed on his arm. King Frederick IX of Denmark had a bold dragon as part of his family crest tattooed on a vital part of his anatomy.

Masons with tatoos

Alfred South’s solicitation to the Craft came in the form of advertisements specifically directed at masons. They were placed in the monthly Masonic Illustrated, on several occasions between 1904 and 1906. Sadly, it has been impossible to find any mason who may have enjoyed the patronage of Mr South early last century. I did, however, come across Bro. Bernard Williamson, a friend and a well-known London mason.
    "Do you have any masonic tattoos on your body?" was my first obvious question.
    "I suppose the very first tattoo drawn on my body in 1969 is a Mark Mason’s mark", replied Bernard. "It was intuitive as I was not made a Freemason until a few years later. Had I been a mason at the time I would have undoubtedly enjoyed some blatant masonic emblems on me. Maybe a full Second Degree tracing board on my back - if my wife allowed it! I do have a tattoo on the inside of my lip!" Bernard folded his lower lip to expose a simplistic and legible "BERNIE" engraved in large letters. He confirmed that it had been a painful process and explained that the inducement to tattooing parts of his body had been entirely a matter of `fashion’.
    "When I joined the army, I had the regimental motto plus my blood group marked on both arms - just in case one got blown off - well, you know how young kids think! Then I had more done as part of the peer grouping, or as an `old sweats’ thing, ending up with some twenty-five images spread over my legs and arms. At my masonic initiation", concluded Bernard, "as I was perambulated, sightless, I overheard someone comment, `turn him over, we have read this side’".
    I soon discovered that Bernie was in a majority when it came to military personnel being tattooed. In the Second World War particularly the pledge to stay with your outfit or to demonstrate commitment to the County of your birth, could be displayed in no better way than by permanent artwork on your own anatomy. Such ‘pledge’ tattoos are common today among very different groups: student fraternities, ship’s crews, sporting teams and more dramatically, as part of the initiation ritual of motorcycle gangs such as the `Hell’s Angels’ and similar groups.
    In contacting masonic friends and enquiring of any knowledge they might have of masons being tattooed I gained replies based only on rumour and hearsay. So I spoke to our editor and we decided to send out a request on the Internet. A host of responses ensued but none we received were as dramatic as those of Bro. Andrew Steel of Oldham, Master Elect of Tonge Hall Lodge, No. 8763. See pictures above.
    But we know that there are more masons out there tattooed with masonic emblems – we heard of one, a tattoo of a brick wall with a graffiti Square and Compass. We should like to see it. Come forth. Make yourselves known. Consider – perhaps – the exclusivity of the requirement for membership of a Tattoo Lodge!

Text © Yasha Beresiner, 2001.

Yasha Beresiner, LLB., is a Past Master of Quatuor Coronati Lodge, No. 2076. He worked as a commercial legal consultant but now is an antiquarian working from Camden Passage, Islington. He considers himself an international individual and an international Freemason.