The Crime Book

136

S

muggling in England peaked

in the 18th century. When

the government began to

tax imports heavily in order to

finance the country’s military

campaigns against France, the rise

in the cost of goods – the price of

tea alone rose by 70 per cent in the

mid-1700s – made smuggling

lucrative. A band of smugglers

known as the Hawkhurst Gang

became the most well-known.

Taking their name from a town

in southeast England, the gang

plotted their exploits at the

Mermaid Inn in Rye, Sussex, their

pistols and sabres at the ready. The

smugglers were notoriously violent,

and did not hesitate to use force

against revenue officers. In 1740,

the gang ambushed excise officer

Thomas Carswell and his dragoons

on Silver Hill as they transported

750 kg (1,650 lbs) of tea seized from

a barn in Etchingham. The gang

shot Carswell dead, captured his

men, and claimed the tea.

Dawn raid

In spite of such violence, the

general public admired the gang

for outsmarting the taxman and

IN CONTEXT

LOCATION

South coast of England, UK

THEME

Smuggling

BEFORE

1735 –1816 The Hadleigh

Gang operates along the east

coast of England. Two of its

members are hanged for the

murder of a dragoon.

AFTER

1799 –1831 Jack Rattenbury, a

smuggler on England’s south

coast, keeps diaries of his

exploits. They are published

with the help of a clergyman.

1817–26 A battle between the

Aldington Gang, on England’s

Kent coast, and excise officers

leaves five dead and 20 injured.

2014 –16 NASCAR driver

Derek White takes part in a

major North American tobacco

smuggling operation – selling

tobacco bought in the US in

Canada and evading $409

million (£323 million) in tax.

THE MOST HAZARDOUS

OF ALL TRADES,

THAT OF THE

SMUGGLER

THE HAWKHURST GANG, 1735–49

The Robin Hood effect

The generally law-abiding

public has long held popular

outlaws in high esteem. It is an

attitude that sometimes comes

out of resentment against

draconian laws imposed by the

ruling class. At other times, it

comes about when governments

are unable or unwilling to

protect their citizens and the

resulting power vacuum is filled

by organized gangs.

American sociologist Robert

Merton theorized that when

individuals cannot achieve

their culture’s goals through

institutionalized means some

pursue their goals illegitimately.

Less bold citizens may idolize

the lawbreaker’s flagrant

rebellion and daring. However,

when gang violence claims

innocent victims, this

admiration changes to outrage.

The murders of Daniel Chater

and William Galley turned the

public against the Hawkhurst

Gang. The London Gazette,

the government’s newspaper,

printed the smugglers’ names

and promised a royal pardon in

return for information on them.

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137

See also: Bonnie and Clyde 26–29 ■ The Beer Wars 152–53

ORGANIZED CRIME

giving them access to cheaper

goods. However, this changed in

October 1747, when the smugglers

sought to recover £500 (about

£70,000 today) worth of contraband

tea, spirits, and coffee by attacking

the custom house in Poole, Dorset,

where the goods were held.

The gang had been smuggling

the goods from Guernsey to

Christchurch aboard The Three

Brothers when their ship was

intercepted by the Swift, a revenue

vessel commanded by Captain

William Johnson. Although the

gang evaded capture by escaping

in a rowing boat, the goods were

confiscated and taken to Poole.

Determined to recover their

merchandise, in the early hours of

8 October, gang leader Thomas

Kingsmill and 30 armed men broke

into Poole Custom House and

absconded with more than 1,500 kg

(3,000 lb) of tea. A £200 (£30,000)

reward was offered for the capture

of the smugglers, and former soldier

William Sturt formed the Goudhurst

Militia to stand up to the gang.

No one came forward to

incriminate the smugglers. The

following year, however, a comment

made by Fordingbridge shoemaker

Daniel Chater, who was acquainted

with one of the gang, led to the

arrest and imprisonment of John

“Dimer” Diamond. Chater had

been given a small bag of tea by

Diamond as the gang passed

through the town of Fordingbridge,

drawing a large crowd of onlookers.

Proud to be singled out by this

gesture, Chater had bragged to

neighbours about his friendship

with Diamond.

Diamond was subsequently

arrested and plans were made

to take Chater to the court at

Chichester to testify against

the smuggler.

Alerted to the impending trial,

fellow gang members William

Jackson and William Carter

abducted Chater and customs

officer William Galley from the

White Hart Inn near Rowlands

Castle, where the pair had stopped

for refreshment on their way to

Chichester. Tying the men to a

horse, the smugglers took them to

the Red Lion Inn at Rake and into

nearby fields. They murdered them

in cold blood, burying Galley alive

and throwing Chater headfirst

down a well.

Final retribution

The gruesome violence used

against Galley and Chater turned

public opinion overwhelmingly

against the smugglers. The

ringleaders were arrested, tried,

and found guilty of raiding the

custom house in Poole. On

26 April 1749, Kingsmill and

three of his associates were

executed by hanging at Tyburn

gallows in London. Kingsmill’s

corpse was hung in chains at

Goudhurst – a town he had once

threatened to burn to the ground

for turning against him. ■

Shoemaker Chater and revenue

officer Galley are kidnapped, tied to

a horse, and flogged by members of

the Hawkhurst Gang before their

brutal murder.

They are so immensely rich

that they bribe ye private

men... [who] at this time

harbour the outlawed persons

in their houses and are the

support of the whole affair.

Mr Pelham

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