HM Waterguard

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The History of The Waterguard

 
 

Page contents:

     
   
         
         
 

The Newsletters of the Customs & Excise History Network are available in PDF format here.

 
       
 

Historical 'snippets' cleaned from here & there that don't really fit elsewhere on the site.

 
       
 

Some of the Custom & Excise Files held at Kew for the years 1670-1950

 
       
 

 

 
     

      CUSTOMS

        The Board of Customs has a very long history. Originally, the term customs meant any customary payments or dues of any kind - for example, to the King, a Bishop or the church - but later became restricted to duties payable to the King on the import or export of goods. The centralised English customs system can be traced to the Winchester Assize of 1203-4, in the reign of King John, from which time customs were to be collected and paid to the State Treasury. Legislation concerning customs can be traced to King Edward I. Under the nova custuma in 1275, Collectors of Customs were appointed by Royal patent and, in 1298, custodes custumae were appointed in certain ports to collect customs for the crown. The first Customs officers were appointed in 1294, and later on included Geoffrey Chaucer, Thomas Paine, Robert Burns and Richard Whittington - also known as Dick Whittington.

        A Board of Customs was effectively created by ordinance on 21 January 1643, under which the regulation of the collection of customs was entrusted to a parliamentary committee.

        As soon as Medieval taxes were charged on imports and exports, people began smuggling, shipping goods unseen by Customs officers. In the eighteenth century, Custom duties were imposed on luxuries like silk and lace, tea, tobacco and brandy. At each port, staff from the Custom House searched cargoes and collected dues. At sea, Customs Revenue Cruisers watched for vessels illegally offloading cargo. From 1698 Riding officers patrolled the coast to catch smugglers as they beached cargoes and carried them inland.

        The 1743 estimate that half the tea drunk in Britain was illegally imported shows that smuggling was highly profitable. This well organised ‘free trade’ employed and supplied many people, from paupers to peers. Smugglers have often been romanticised but the reality was brutal. Local people lived in fear, with violent reprisals on informers and the murder of conscientious Revenue officers, while corruption enabled captured smugglers to evade harsh penalties.

         

         

      EXCISE

        The Board of Excise is not so ancient. Excise duties are inland duties levied on articles at the time of their manufacture, such as alcoholic drinks and tobacco, but duties have also been levied on salt, paper and windows. A Board of Excise was established by the Long Parliament, and Excise Duties first levied, in 1643. The Board of Excise was merged with the existing Board of Taxes and Board of Stamps to create the new Board of Inland Revenue in 1849. Famous Excise Officers include Robert Burns & Thomas Paine.

 

     

Geoffrey Chaucer

1347-1400

 

 

 

     

Richard Whittington

1350-1423

 

 

 

     

Thomas Paine

1737-1809

 

 

 

     

Robert Burns

1759-1796

 

 

 

     
 
 
 

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During the early period of a joint Customs and Excise department there were some changes in management as Excise Districts absorbed Customs Stations. A 1913 edition of 'General Instructions to Surveyors and Officers Employed upon Excise Duties' reflects the change in a section referring to the supervision of Preventive Men on Preventive Stations. An extract in PDF form can be seen by selecting the 'button' on the right.

::Instructions to Surveyors & Officers

    Employed upon Excise Duties ::: 

 
       
 

An insight into the history of the Customs and the Customs & Excise services at Gravesend in Kent from the earliest times until 1935 was given in a series of articles by Frank C. Bowen published in ‘The Gravesend Reporter' during the years 1934 -1936.The relevant passages, which reflect the services at many other ports, are reproduced here as a PDF which can be seen by selecting the 'button' on the right.

 

::: A History of Gravesend Customs :::

 

       
 

An article by Geoffrey Williamson in the 'Illustrated Magazine' dated 16 November 1946 - They Watch Our Coasts Day and Night - provides a spotlight on the Waterguard service and the increase in smuggling after WWII. The article is interesting from two perspectives. First it describes the task of meeting the challenge that fell upon the Preventive Branch of Customs and Excise which was busy training new recruits. Second, it mentions 'a vast reorganisation scheme, bringing the divisions into which the country is divided for customs purposes up to fifteen by the addition of new establishments at Harwich, Bristol, Salford and Belfast'. It can be seen in PDF form by selecting the 'button' on the right.

 

::: They  Watch Our Coasts Day and Night :::

 
       
 

Another insight into the history of the Customs and the Customs & Excise, this time by Eric Keown writing in the 21 May 1952 edition of Punch magazine after a visit to the Board of Customs and Excise private museum in Finsbury Square, London. The article entitled 'Painful Duties' is also reproduced here as a PDF which can be seen by selecting the 'button' on the right.

 

::: Painful Duties by Eric Keown :::

 
       
 

An article by Hugh Popham which was written for the Esso Newsline - an 'in house' magazine - and published in 1965. It gives an insight into the customs work at the Fawley oil terminal and puts it into an historical perspective. It can be seen by selecting the 'button' on the right.

 

::: Anything to declare? by Hugh Popham :::

 
             
 

   

Revenue Cruiser chasing Smuggling Lugger

(from the original painting by Charles Dixon, R.I.)   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before firing on a smuggler the cruiser was bound to hoist his Revenue colours - both pennant and ensign - no matter whether day or night.

   
             
 
 

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Within a decade Coastguard vigilance was praised for greatly reducing smuggling, though lower taxes helped end illegal trade. The Admiralty was already re-styling the Coastguard with naval style uniform and drill, and training on large guns for coast defence. The Coastguard continued to take charge at wrecks and to save lives. The Board of Trade issued life saving apparatus to Coastguard stations, thus fulfilling its responsibility for safety at sea imposed by the 1854 Merchant Shipping Act. The role of naval reserve and coastal defence force was sealed when the Coast-guard Service Act (1856) passed control from the Board of Customs to the Admiralty. Though still available for revenue protection, Coastguards trained to supplement naval crews. A PDF copy of the Coast-guard Service Act (1865) is reproduced here.

 

::: The Coast-guard Service Act 1856 :::

 

 

In 1898, in the light of 6 years experience, it was considered necessary to reorganise the establishment of the Waterguard Service above the rank of Boatman in order to make it more appropriate to the requirements of the service. The changes were introduced by General Order 18/1898 - 21 March 1898 - which can be seen by selecting the 'button' on the right.

 

::: GO 18/1898 (21 March 1898) ::: 

 
 
 

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The Journal article by George Coppard is reproduced here as a PDF.

 

 

The Reorganisation of 1972 was preceeded by the Reorganistion Agreement of 1971 which is reproduced here as a PDF.

 

       
         
   

         

    The Cover & Introduction by Sir Louis Petch KCB of 'Introducing HM Customs and Excise'

   
         
       
 

A copy of this explanatory booklet is available here as a PDF file.