NB - A comprehensive catalogue of all HMC&E launches - since 1920, and cutters - since 1946, was published by the World Ship Society's Small Craft Group - HM Customs & Excise Cutters & Launches - Class Directory compiled by Philip Simmons.

HISTORY

The revenue fleet of the English Customs can trace its history to the reign of King Charles II though there are to be found references to Custom House boats at Bristol in 1429. By the year of 1662 at least three smacks of which only two, Industry and Fame are named, were deployed on anti-smuggling duties. The status of these vessels is not at all clear for while some writers state they were Custom House smacks, others suggest they were either naval vessels or hired into service. To further confuse matters there is evidence that Industry had two commanders, one appointed by the Commissioners of the Customs and the other by the Navy. Legend tells us that at one point the naval commander was rather harshly beaten by some Customs officers and prevented from boarding his ship!

From its beginnings in the 17th century and throughout the 18th century the English revenue fleet consisted of a mix of sailing craft types including Wherries, Brigs, Smacks, Yachts, Luggers, Sloops and possibly Cutters. During the early days of Customs and Excise - two different, and amusingly, rival departments! - some patrol vessels were contracted and others commissioned to be built by individual customs Collectors. In a good builder's yard one might conceivably find while fine-tuning the proportions for a Revenue Service vessel, beside it an equally swift hull was growing for smuggling duties . . . . but nobody would admit to that.

Arnold-Forster in 'At War With The Smugglers' wrote of the Revenue Cutters 'These typical English cutters were always clinker built . . . . being considered more suitable for rough and tumble work than the smooth-sided carvel fashion more commonly used by foreign boat builders. Those for the Customs service, being required to be at sea for long periods in all weathers, had to be more stoutly built than the smugglers' vessels that could pick time and weather for their short runs.'

In 1745 a Parliamentary Committee was told that the ships of the smugglers 'were the best sailing fore-and-afters that were built in those days, and could easily out-sail both the King's ships and the Custom House sloops'. Until 1750 the Commissioners of Customs refused to allow their vessels to be called cutters, a cutter being synonymous with smuggling, and the vessels were all referred to as Sloops. For reasons not altogether clear, at some point beyond 1750 the vessels used by the Customs began to be known as Cutters. The Commissioners of the Excise however preferred to describe their vessels as 'yachts' and 'brigs' until around 1823.

Parliamentary Question (13 March 1922).

Sir R Blair asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the original cost of the steam-yacht 'Vigilant', now used by the Board of Customs and Excise, the cost of adapting her for  present service, the number of ship's company, the annual cost of running her, and for what duties is she kept in commission?

Mr Young replied that the Customs Revenue vessel 'Vigilant' was formerly an Admiralty trawler, and was transferred from the Admiralty at a nominal charge of Ł6,500 and that the cost of adapting her for Customs service was Ł2,120. The number of ship's company is 17 officers and men; the annual cost of running and maintaining her is Ł6,800 (including the crew's pay); and, except for occasional port to port inspections, she is employed in the prevention of smuggling and in boarding and searching vessels for contraband in the estuarial waters of the Thames, which present special dangers to the Customs revenue. The work of the 'Vigilant' and other Customs vessels was specifically investigated by the Geddes Committee, and the Committee reported against any reduction of that work.

 

POST WORLD WAR II

The first purpose built post war Cutter was the Venturous. She was built at Dartmouth in about 1962/63 and was manned by a volunteer Waterguard staff of Preventive Officers and Assistant Preventive Officers. She had a complement of eight and was also designed to carry members of the Board on their Summer Cruises. She was followed by the Vigilant in 1965 and then by the Valiant in 1967 both of which were smaller vessels having a crew of six.

The Outfield Directorate of HM Customs & Excise had responsibility for the management of the Service whilst operational control was laid to the General Customs Directorate.  All the crew were volunteers initially selected by the Outfield Directorate. The selected skippers at Management Conferences held twice a year, picked the crews. The more sea going experience a volunteer had, the better the chance he had of being picked as crew - it was difficult to get in to this select band of officers! The crews served on detached duty from their home stations for a period of three months. Initially the vessels only operated in the summer months but this was eventually extended to all year operations. .

On board a cutter chain of command was:

• Cutter Commander
• 'Number One' or Mate
• Chief Engineer
• Second Engineer
• Deck/Radio’s

Normal Waterguard Uniform was worn on board, thus it was impossible to tell the Commander from the rest of the crew especially when the skipper was an Assistant Preventive Officer.

Specialist training was undertaken at RAF Mount Batten near Plymouth. There were separate courses for engineers and deck officers. The latter took an RAF Master Coxswain’s ticket, which involved four months of hard study coupled with extensive boat handling. Many a brain went into overheat trying to master the complexities of Astro Navigation. The course also included sea survival and fire fighting, the latter done by the Royal Navy. Deck crew also had to undergo a Department of Trade Radar Watch Keeper's Certificate course at one of the maritime training colleges around the UK, and all crew members usually obtained a DoT Restricted Radio Ticket, which involved a short oral exam and radio test taken onboard by a DoT examiner.

Additional protective uniform was provided on a vessel issue basis in the case of foul weather clothing and safety equipment. Individuals were issued with yachting sea boots and canvas yachting shoes plus a seaman’s blue jersey. Shirts and seaman’s knives had to be obtained by private purchase - usually from a 'pussers store' at a Naval establishment.

 

HMRC Valiant

HMRC Venturous

HMRC Vigilant

THE WORK OF THE CUTTERS

The job of the Cutter Service was to detect and deter smuggling and smugglers whilst they were still at sea but were within the United Kingdom's territorial waters. Apart from the approved ports, where the Waterguard was stationed, most of the UK's coast was relatively unprotected from smugglers. The cutter crews challenged and rummaged any vessels around the coast.

Until IMO legislation and the MCA edict “Over the side is over" made it illegal, the cutters were used to dump goods that could not be destroyed or returned to the trade, usually lighters, arms and ammunition, in the Hurd Deep or some such in the Thames Estuary. The images below are from c1960.