Pale outline of a winged propeller emblem on a shoulder, showing as light lines on tanned skin.

Enlarged with AI from a smaller original

Winged propeller emblem on a shoulder

Shoulder · Black and grey · Photo

A winged propeller emblem is shown as a pale, raised-looking outline on tanned skin, with the wings spread to each side of a central propeller blade. The lines are thin and even, with feathered detail along the wings and no visible shading. A white garment strap runs along the left edge of the frame against a dark background.

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A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Mr Dunne had the galley hatch open before the hull stopped slapping the moorings at Calshot, and he wanted two dozen eggs for the crew before we lifted again. I had a stove with one good ring, a dented urn and a tin of powdered milk, so I cracked the eggs into the big pan one-handed and tried not to think about the sea coming up under the floor.

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The winged propeller was stitched on the breast of Teddy Varley's flying jacket, the wireless operator who had come aboard with us from the Crete run. He liked to tell me the wings were for the men who kept a machine in the air and the propeller was for the men who kept it honest. I told him to stop talking and pass the salt. He had a crooked grin and a habit of tapping the badge whenever the engines coughed.

We lost Teddy off Lisbon. A blade let go on number three, the boat came down heavy on the swell, and he went out through the hatch before anyone could reach him. When they gave me his kit to pack I found a spare brass emblem wrapped in a handkerchief. I pinned it to my apron that night, though nobody had asked me to wear it.

I still cook for the crews at the Solent yard on Sunday mornings. When the hull lifts on the first swell, I watch the light catch the outline of the wings on the rivets, and I count the blades turning slow over the water. Teddy always said a prop only had to be balanced to get you home, and I have never found a better answer.

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