People listening to this won't believe this but this is the
honest truth. That was one of the things I used to bring from
the States. And if I had brought a dozen boxes of chocolates
I couldn't have brought a better thing... other than nylon
stockings. That and tomato sauce was the ‘in’ thing. Of
course, as I have previously said, we were still rationed, we were
rationed well into the '50s, everything was in short supply.
Here again, another story prevails from that. That in those
days nylon stockings for women in this country were prohibited so
we were allowed to bring in either three or six pairs, I'm not
quite sure, which you paid duty on but of course there was quite a
market for those days. If we could we’d bring more in but of
course if you were caught by the Customs a lot was confiscated and
you were fined.
There was always the rummaging crew, the Customs, that came on
Nab Tower who literally came on board to rummage right through
engine room, through all the coal stores, through crews' cabins, or
through the glory holes, and especially if we were coming in from
lay-up which was round about October of every year, there was six
weeks lay up, and of course those that smoked wanted their cheap
cigarettes so they found all sorts of funny places to store
cigarettes in. And there again six weeks on low pay...I think
it was £25 a month we got in those days, £25 a month, no tips of
course because we had no passengers and no opportunity of making
money other ways, we then were looking for bringing some saleable
commodity...um stockings that sort of thing...to bring into to… to
sell.
Customs were very very....always on duty down the bottom of the
gangway. How do you get past them? Well there is the
famous story that goes of a chap that carried the cardboard
box...because every trip you always brought lots of stuff that you
had bought from the States...foodstuffs that sort of thing...and
you had these boxes which you could see they were American boxes,
they were stamped with the codings which were American, and this
particular character this day went down the gangway and was stopped
at the bottom of the gangway and told the Customs officer. He said
“I've got a cat in here”. The Customs officer said, “Oh yes,
tell me another one”. “Look”, he said, “if I open up and you
look in the cat will jump out and run back up the gangway”.
The Customs officer didn't believe him, made him open the box and
with that there was a cat in the box, it jumped out the box and ran
back up the gangway.
Crew member says to the Customs, “now look, I've gotta go back
and get the cat because I've gotta take it to the vet”. Goes
back on board, picks up a similar box marked exactly the same,
packed exactly the same, walked down the gangway, saw the
Customs.…. “I've got 'im, I've found 'im, you don't wanna have
another look do you?” “No, go on,” and off he went and of
course he had his contraband in the box. But in those days it
was very very simple contraband, it wasn't drugs or anything like
that, it wasn't about, it was just purely and simply stuff that
could be brought ashore very innocently and sold for a few bob to
make a few bob.
