RAF relaxes tattoo policy
Rare medieval chess piece bought for £5 and kept in drawer set to fetch fortune
THE RAF is easing its policy on tattoos in a bid to appeal to more recruits.
Air force personnel have never been allowed to display body art while wearing uniform.
But they will now be allowed to have tattoos on the back and sides of their neck, provided they are not visible from the front.
An MoD spokesman said: “The policy aims to balance between broadening the pool from which we recruit and maintaining high standards.” A MISSING medieval chess piece bought for £5 and kept in a drawer could make £1million at auction.
Five pieces of the Lewis Chessmen – a famous hoard of 93 objects discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides – have been missing for nearly two centuries.
But a family has been told the 3.5in chess piece their grandfather, who was an antiques dealer, bought in 1964 is one of them.
His Edinburgh family looked after it for 55 years unaware of its significance.
Experts say the chess pieces are the bestknown archaeological find from Scotland.
They are said to have inspired part of the plot in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and TV cartoon Noggin the Nog.
Sotheby’s expert Alexander Kader said: Hoard was found on Lewis “This is one of the most exciting rediscoveries of my career. All the chessmen are a pale ivory colour, but the new Lewis warder’s dark tone has the potential to offer fresh insight into how other Lewis chessmen may have looked.”
The warrior piece is the equivalent of a rook and will be sold in London on July 2.
A family spokesman said: “It can be assumed my grandfather was unaware he had purchased an important historic artefact.
“My mother admired its intricacy and quirkiness. She believed it could even have had some magical significance.”
The 93-piece hoard could make four sets, minus one knight and four warders. They are kept in the British Museum in London and the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.