Skuse, a driver in the
Women's Royal Army Corps based at
Aldershot 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 pay on getting more tattoos from her future husband, Bill Skuse, at his studio in the
amusement arcade in Aldershot's High Street. She turned down an offer from a showman in
Glasgow,
Scotland 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==