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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Barnaby Kellaway & Millie Reeves

Man spends nine hours getting stunning tribute to grandfather tattooed

These photos show the poignant tribute a 26-year-old man paid to his late granddad - by having the moment he met his great-granddaughter for the first time immortalised in ink.

Macca Harper captured the emotional meeting on camera last year - three months before his beloved granddad John Harper died from cancer on his 70th birthday.

Now he has commemorated the moment and honoured John by having an exact replica of the photo tattooed onto his bicep, in a piece of artwork that will stay with him forever.

The ink shows his granddad, who Macca describes as a “man’s man”, cradling his first and only great-granddaughter, Elsie, during their first-ever meeting on July 25, 2020.

John Harper with baby Elsie - the picture that inspired the tattoo (Macca Harper / SWNS.COM)

Elsie was only a couple of weeks old at the time and despite John’s usually tough exterior, according to Macca, the joy on his face is clear for all to see.

He said: "That moment is so special to me.

"My granddad was diagnosed with cancer just after we found out Elsie was coming and I was worried that he would pass away before she arrived.

"Luckily he didn't and we managed to get this amazing photo.

"Elsie will never know her granddad but this photo will live on forever and when she's bigger I can show her."

Macca Harper's tattoo of John Harper holding baby Elsie (© Macca Harper / SWNS.COM)

Macca, a gas technician from Doncaster, South Yorks, added: "I wanted to do something special to remember my granddad and thought a tattoo would be good.

"He was covered in them so I think he would approve.

"My granddad was a pretty tough, old fashioned man but whenever we took Elsie to see him he would light up.

"You can see it in the picture, and now the tattoo as well."

Elsie, who turns one next month, is the first girl in the family since John's sister was born and is named after his mum.

Macca spent a whopping nine hours getting the £800 work done on Saturday at a studio in Sheffield called Redemption Tattoo Studio.

He said: "I'm over the moon with how it has come out, it's the perfect tribute to him.

"The artwork itself is unreal, it looks exactly the photo and that's just what I wanted. I couldn't be happier with it."

In the wake of his granddad's death, Macca penned a heartfelt poem, which is written in ink below the main tattoo.

It says: “Those we love don’t stay. They walk beside us every day.

“Unseen unheard but always near. Still loved still missed and held so dear.”

For funeral notices in your area, visit funeral-notices.co.uk

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