PORTS, CREEKS, STATIONS & WHARVES

CONTROL OF AIRCRAFT

CONTROL OF HOVERCRAFT

CONTROL OF VESSELS

WHO DID WHAT

DUTY FREE SHOPS

Duty Free Shops, in positions located seaside or airside of departure controls, such as the departure lounges, were opened at certain ports and airports - the first at Terminal 3, London Airport in 1963. They were in fact a retail extension of a bonded warehouse established to allow the sale to certain categories of passengers, and for immediate exportation, of both foreign and British manufactured perfumes, wines, spirits, tobacco goods, cameras and photographic goods, optical instruments, clocks and watches, mechanical lighters, fountain pens and pencils, free of duty and/or purchase tax. The goods were strictly controlled from the bonded warehouse, to the shop and to the point of departure, with checks against sales sheets on board departing aircraft in the 1960's.

A Personal Export Scheme was operated by some shops which enabled the trader to reclaim relief from Purchase Tax and the procedure required Waterguard officers to certify that the goods had been exported.

EXCHANGE CONTROL

The Exchange Control Act of 1947 came into operation on 1 October 1947 and made it an offence to import or export UK and Channel Island bank notes in excess of £10, and most other means of monetary exchange except with Treasury permission. The Waterguard was charged with policing these restrictions in respect of passengers arriving in or departing from the UK.

These controls were gradually relaxed throughout the late 1960s and 1970s.

FISHING VESSELS

Under the Small Port regulations, Waterguard Officers were responsible for the Registration of British Sea Fishing Boats as well as the control of such vessels arriving from and departing for the fishing grounds. Fresh fish of British taking were regarded as ballast and therefore no formal Entry was required for any fish landed although fish deemed to have been illegally caught by illegal fishing methods or in a prohibited area were subject to a prohibition and seizure.

IMMIGRATION

Before the Immigration Act of 1793, informed by the influx of refugees during the French Revolution, immigration control was vested in The Clerks and Commissioners of the Passage. The  Immigration Act of 1793 required that:

• 'The Master or Commander of every Ship or Vessel which shall arrive at any port or Place in this Kingdom, shall immediately on his arrival, declare in writing to the Collector and Comptroller, or other Chief Officer of the Customs, at or near such a Port or Place, whether there are, to the best of his knowledge, any Foreigns on board his said vessel; and shall, in his said declaration, specify the Number of Foreigners, if any, on board the said vessel and also specify their names and respective Rank, Occupation or Description, as far as he shall be informed thereof'.

Clause III of the 1793 Act also required the alien  to state in writing his name, rank, occupation and description,

• 'or, if a Domestik Servant, then also the Name, Rank, Occupation or Description of his Master or Mistress, or shall verbally make to such Officer as afore said such Declaration to be reduced by him in writing; and shall also in like Manner declare the Country or Countries, Place or Places where he or she shall have principally resided for Six Calendar Months next immediately preceding such arrival'.

The foreigner was also required to obtain from the Customs Officer a certificate of having made a Declaration, containing the full particulars given. There was, however, to be a special exemption for 'Mariners' certified by the Master to the Customs to be members of the crew of his ship.

Clause XXII of the Act read:

• 'Every Custom House Officer, Magistrate or Justice as aforesaid shall, with all convenient Diligence, transmit to one of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State copies of all such Accounts in Writing ... keeping all ... all such Passports and Certificates, as far as may be, from being made publick.'

Unlike the Waterguard, with its complete coverage of the coastline and watch-keeping traditions, the Immigration Service was only intended to operate at ports approved for the landing of passengers and at a few other ports which dealt with large quantities of alien seamen. Waterguard Preventive Officers were still employed as Immigration Officers at the smaller Ports and required to act, under Warrant, on behalf of the Home Office until the HMC&E reorganisation in 1972.

IRISH LAND BOUNDARY

PASSENGERS' BAGGAGE - INWARDS EXAMINATION

Before the introduction of the Self Selection declaration system known as 'Red and Green' in the late 1960s, all passengers were directed to a Baggage Examination bench where a Waterguard officer invariably asked them to read a Notice, printed on a laminated card, that explained what had to be declared and that the penalties for smuggling were severe. The wording of the Notice changed over time reflecting the perceived threat to the revenue.

The Officer then examined any articles produced and either cleared the baggage after calculating and receiving any duty and tax payable, or carried out a full or partial examination of the baggage. It was then the practice to place a chalk mark on the baggage of all passengers cleared under the 'confrontation' system to indicate that it had been cleared for the information of any Assistant Preventive Officers stationed at the Baggage Hall exit.

Notice Number 1 was in the form of a small pamphlet. It had the same explanation printed on it as Notice Number 2 plus space for the passenger to note down any articles he had to declare. It was sometimes issued to passengers by the Shipping line or the Airline prior to arrival at the point of examination. Its  completion was not compulsory.

As well as protecting the revenue, baggage officers also protected the public from perceived harm by enforcing Prohibitions and Restrictions on a variety of goods. And from 1947 until its repeal, Officers applied the Exchange Control regulations which sought to control the import of Bank of England currency notes and other forms of currency exchange.

The clearance of human remains, and the ashes of cremated corpses, unaccompanied baggage carried as freight and household effects were the responsibility of Waterguard officers but any merchandise carried as baggage was referred to the Landing and Shipping staff.

Motor vehicles were originally dealt with by Landing and Shipping staff but with the introduction of the 'Roll On - Roll Off' car ferry terminals the clearance of the vehicles and their occupants transferred to the Waterguard in purpose built Car Halls.

Before the 'Red and Green' system allowed passengers to make a self assessment declaration by selecting the Red channel if they thought they had articles on which duty was payable, or selecting the Green channel if they had 'Nothing to Declare', all passengers were confronted, questioned and cleared at baggage benches. Initially these benches were arranged, in a square, in the middle of the baggage hall. Later on they were arranged in a row between the baggage reclaim area and the exit.

If any irregularities were discovered, or a passenger was found with 'Goods to Declare' in the Green channel - under the 'Red and Green' system it became an 'absolute' offence to enter the Green channel with 'Goods to Declare' - the Smuggling Regulations were applied.

NB. An offence is said to be 'absolute' when there is no defence against it in law.

PASSENGERS' BAGGAGE - OUTWARD EXAMINATION

The outward controls at ports and airports differed in scope from those for inward passengers. The Revenue was only at risk if goods destined for export were illegally diverted to home use. Duty Free Shop goods were strictly controlled to the point of departure with checks against sales sheets on board departing aircraft in the 1960's. A Personal Export Scheme was operated by some shops which enabled the trader to reclaim relief from Purchase Tax and the procedure required Waterguard officers to certify that the goods had been exported.

Board of Trade Licences had to be produced for the exportation of certain goods at various times including Arms and Ammunition, some Foodstuffs, Antiques and Works of Art, Diamonds, Fur Skins and Gold. The licences, once exhausted, were returned to the Board of Trade. From 1947 until its repeal, Officers applied the Exchange Control regulations which sought to control the export of Bank of England currency notes and other forms of currency exchange.

If any irregularities were discovered the Smuggling Regulations were applied.

RECEIVER OF WRECK

REGISTRAR OF SHIPPING

Another Agency function on behalf of the Board of Trade, with the overall Customs control laid to the Collector London Port. Many Waterguard Officers in charge of Small Ports, were appointed as Registrars of Shipping.

RUMMAGE

Rummage means ‘to search diligently’ and a typical Rummage crew consisted of a Preventive Officer and thee Assistant Preventive Officers although in some of the smaller ports they only consisted of a Preventive Officer and two Assistant Preventive Officers.

The opening paragraph of 'Modern Smuggling and its Detection' - a small book of instruction to Waterguard Boatmen published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office in 1888 - states:

'The first thing to be remembered, is that an  officer who only rummages a portion of a vessel thoroughly is worth a hundredfold more to the Crown than one who scampers all over her, and, failing to discover any contraband goods, arrives at the conclusion that there is none to be found.'

There were usually one or more Rummage Crews in all major ports - London Port at one time had fifteen crews between the London Custom House and Sheerness - three of those crews had 'Mobile' terms of overtime working, that is 'all hours worked’ with a daily credit of two hours pay at overtime rates. They covered the whole Port wherever their knowledge or information and expertise took them, whilst the remaining crews were based in the various Dock systems.

SMUGGLING

TRANSHIPMENTS

Often there was a need to move uncustomed goods - ie that had not been cleared or duty paid - from one place to another such as a distant Customs warehouse, Baggage warehouse, Queen's Warehouse or a distant Waterguard station. Baggage was transferred from Victoria Station to Dover on the Golden Arrow in the 1950's. The baggage was cleared outwards, placed in a van on the train, the van was sealed with a lead plomb, and the cart notes were carried by the Guard to Dover.

YACHTS & PRIVATE CRAFT

DUTY FREE ALLOWANCES

Originally the Duty Free 'Allowance' of dutiable goods was a Duty Free ‘Concession’ which could be withdrawn completely in certain circumstances. Its origin dated back to the days of the Honourable East India Company which obtained a Royal Warrant to trade eastwards beyond Cape Town. Some of these voyages could last up to six months or more.

In those days any passengers carried their own stores to last the duration of the voyage. As it was difficult to judge the length of any voyage, passengers were allowed a 'dutyfree concession' of up to 1/2lb of tobacco goods and up to 1/12 of a gallon of spirits - note the term ‘up to’ which suggests that it was really the 'remains’ and not an automatic amount considered.

The 'concession' was withdrawn completely, for example, when a person was being dealt with for a smuggling offence or had exceeded the Duty Free 'concession'. A passenger who declared 1lb of tobacco goods would pay duty on the excess of 1/2lb, but a passenger who declared more than 1lb lost the concession completely and paid duty on the total amount of tobacco goods being imported.

DUTY PAYMENT

Goods which were freely declared, but exceeded the Duty Free allowances or concessions, became liable to any duty and taxes that were applicable to those items. The amount was calculated by the examining officer with the aid of a 'Ready Reckoner' and the cash taken. A receipt, known as a 'duty slip', was prepared in duplicate and issued to the person paying the charges. Much to the consternation of most passengers, the payer received the duplicate copy - the original was retained in the Duty Slip Book - C175.

Payment was acceptable in cash, travellers cheques or by a personal cheque drawn on a UK bank. All 'bounced' cheques were the subject of full scale cash recovery action regardless of the amount.

WATERGUARD READY RECKONER

The Customs duty and any other charges payable at import were, and still are, published in the UK Customs Tariff. The rates of Purchase Tax payable prior to 1972 were published in the annual Finance Bill. Both these 'sources' were far too complex and cumbersome to be readily available to a Waterguard officer on the baggage bench or on board ship or aircraft. So the detail relevant to Waterguard officers at the 'work face' was distilled in to the Waterguard Ready Reckoner, which was updated regularly and became the officer's bible for calculating charges and compromise penalties.

PROHIBITIONS & RESTRICTIONS

As well as protecting the revenue, the Waterguard was, at various times, the main line of defence against the perceived threat to social morality and the inherent danger from the importation of Dangerous Drugs, Dogs and Cats, Parrots, Plumage, Poultry carcasses, Uncooked meats, Cinematographic films, Seditious literature, Pornographic material, Flick knives, Horror comics, Arms and ammunition and Japanese shaving brushes.

PENALTIES FOR SMUGGLING

Any vessel found smuggling, where the main purpose of the voyage was smuggling, was liable to outright seizure, irrespective of any fines or imprisonment imposed on any or all the of the offenders.

A fine could be leveled on a vessel when a Responsible Officer was detected smuggling. Any Watch Keeping Officer was considered responsible for the suppression of smuggling and if such an Officer was detected smuggling, the Shipping Company was obliged to pay a fine irrespective of any penalties paid by the Offender. A ship could also be fined in cases of neglect by any Officer of the ship, or if goods were found in a place which could not have been used for smuggling if reasonable care had been taken by the appropriate responsible Officer, in cases of a breakage of seal, and sailing without an Outward Clearance. There was no power of arrest for these offences and if the fines were not paid a civil action had to be pursued in a Magistrates’ Court by Information & Summons.

As with vessels, any motor vehicle used for the purpose of smuggling was liable to seizure, irrespective of any penalties imposed on the offender or offenders who could reclaim the vehicle against a further payment - unless the vehicle had been adapted or fitted with devices such as blocked off petrol tanks or secret compartments.

OFFENCES

Waterguard work, by its very nature, involved the detection and investigation of offences in contravention of the various Acts of Parliament - and the regulations therefrom - that governed that work. In the main they were the Customs Acts and later the Customs & Excise Acts, but on occasion they were the Acts of Parliament governing 'agency work'. Any offences that were found to be related to commercial activities or were committed outside the confines of the port, airport or other place of import were referred to the Customs & Excise Investigation Division.

OFFENDERS

Passengers and crew caught offending against the Customs & Excise Acts were subject to a variety of penalties:

• A verbal warning as to their future conduct in respect of Customs matters and the payment of any duty and tax involved. Non payment resulted in detention of the goods.

• From the late 1960s in respect of small quantities of tobacco products, wine and spirits, the offender could be asked to pay the duty and tax involved, plus 10%, and the goods were returned to the offender. If the offer was refused by the offender, the goods were seized and full offence action, as described below, was taken.

• Seizure of the goods involved and the offender either offered the options of:

• Arrested and charged with the offence at a local poice station  (HMC&E did not have the power to charge).

DETENTION OF GOODS

Goods were detained by Waterguard officers when there was doubt about their nature, their value, their origin, the correct rate of duty applicable or if there were insufficient grounds for immediate seizure. They were then wrapped, sealed, recorded and sent to the nearest King's or Queen's Warehouse for storage. When any doubt had been resolved, and the correct amount of any duty paid, the goods were normally released to the importer.

SEIZURE OF GOODS

Goods were seized by Waterguard officers, as Forfeit to the Crown, when they were proscribed by law or when they were the subject of an attempted evasion of an import restriction or prohibition, or evasion of the duty on them. In certain circumstances an item became liable to seizure solely because it was instrumental in the attempted evasion whilst not being the object of the evasion - a vessel or motor vehicle used to smuggle goods for example. In most cases the goods were seized in the presence of the owner or importer.

Seized goods were wrapped and sealed, recorded and reported and sent to the nearest King's or Queen's Warehouse for storage until the correct disposal was determined. If the King's or Queen's Warehouse was any distance away, the goods were stored in a local Waterguard Lockup under the security of a crown lock, until suitable transport was available. This could prove to be problematical if the goods were by nature 'noxious' or the quantities were large or the goods required special storage or transport conditions.

Seizures were reported to the Collector for the Port in which the seizure was made. The report was in two parts maintaining the 'accounting' separation of goods and paperwork.

FELLOW TRAVELERS

LAUNCH SERVICE

LOCAL PRACTICE

OFFICE ADMINISTRATION

PUBLIC NOTICES

REVENUE CUTTERS

THE ROYAL NAVY

VISITING FORCES

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization - NATO - was formed in 1947 to combat the perceived threat from Eastern Europe in what became known as The Cold War. The countries of Western Europe, Canada and the United States formed this alliance to give each other mutual support. The treaty also gave NATO countries the opportunity to station its Armed Forces in Western Europe and its service men, and their dependants, the ability to move freely between and within the member countries, and to live duty and tax free in those countries.

To deal with this new situation the British Government passed the Visiting Forces Act 1952 and HMC&E issued General Order 3/1954 which set out new and appropriate Customs procedures.

WAXER

Customs shorthand for an alcoholic drink, and in Waterguard parlance particularly a ‘tot of spirits' to help see the day through!

The term derives from when dealing with imported goods it was frequently necessary to take samples for the Government Chemist. In the case of spirits the sample was taken in special 1/10th of a gallon bottles. Having drawn the sample, and a duplicate, the Assistant Preventive Officer would seal the bottles. The bottles were full to the brim and it was necessary to decant a small quantity so that the cork could be pushed home and be flush with the top of the bottle. They were then sealed by putting ‘hot sealing wax’ on the cork and applying the numbered seal

A single exercise could involve dozens of bottles and the 'decantations' might provide a substantial amount of the liquid which came to be known as 'Waxers'. The Official Instructions called for these 'decantations' to be disposed of by way of the 'public sewer' and so they were - but not always in public. It was alleged that from time to time it was not unknown for them to be diverted by way of the unofficial  kidneys as flavour for the duplicate sample of Coffee - 'Roasted and ground' of course!

WORKING ABROAD