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Some Special Interests => Occupation Interests => Topic started by: Holly Golightly on Sunday 19 June 05 09:00 BST (UK)

Title: What is an Excise Officer?
Post by: Holly Golightly on Sunday 19 June 05 09:00 BST (UK)
Can anyone shed any light on this occupation?

Holly
Title: Re: What is an Excise Officer?
Post by: RJ_Paton on Sunday 19 June 05 09:07 BST (UK)
Tax collector.
Title: Re: What is an Excise Officer?
Post by: Holly Golightly on Sunday 19 June 05 09:08 BST (UK)
Thankyou very much,

Holly
Title: Re: What is an Excise Officer?
Post by: Little Nell on Sunday 19 June 05 13:46 BST (UK)
More specifically, the tax put on certain goods (e.g. tobacco) or liquor (e.g. brandy or whisky), and otherwise known as excise duty.  The word in occupation terms is often seen in conjunction with Customs.

Nell
Title: Re: What is an Excise Officer?
Post by: Holly Golightly on Sunday 19 June 05 13:48 BST (UK)
Ty Little Nell

Title: Re: What is an Excise Officer?
Post by: RJ_Paton on Sunday 19 June 05 18:27 BST (UK)
Much depends on how early the position was ...... excisemen originally collected all sorts of taxes not just those where duty was imposed and although today we link them with Customs that is a relatively recent state of affairs.
(Ironically parts of Customs and Excise have recently been amalgamated with inland revenue departments)
Title: See also Coast Guard
Post by: Zelley on Tuesday 21 June 05 23:33 BST (UK)
In the early days of the Coast Guard, there was a term called Preventative Men.  If you read the novel "Moonfleet" you will understand
regarding smuggling & wrecking.
Title: Re: What is an Excise Officer?
Post by: Holly Golightly on Wednesday 22 June 05 14:42 BST (UK)
ty Zelley and Falkryn!!!
Title: Re: What is an Excise Officer?
Post by: singwell on Wednesday 13 July 05 23:58 BST (UK)
Here is a good description taken from http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/UKCustoms.html
"The proximity of Britain to the continent meant that smuggling was an ever present threat and the resultant evasion of duties on imported goods was a loss of valuable revenue for the British Government. Customs men operated within ports, collected duties on goods and endeavoured to prevent evasion of duties, a small fleet of Revenue cruisers patrolled the coastal waters,
and a force of Riding Officers patrolled the coastline to ensure that smugglers were unable to land their goods. The Board of Excise was set up in 1643 to collect duties on certain British goods. "

The job was clearly very dangerous. They were the guys  at the coal face, and it was clearly very dangerous.
On http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/smugglers.htm we read
"There were many bloody, desperate fights with the Excise-men in the lonely creeks, and an entire boatload of Excise-men were found with their throats cut on the Sunken Island near Mersea, in the early 1800's. They now buried beneath their upturned boat in Virley churchyard. "
I wonder how my ancestor, John Trenerry, ended up, as he was an excise officer at the end of the 18th century and early 19th century. He lived in the Devon Gloucestershire area, but his widow was in Bristol with their son in the 1830's.
Anyone heard of JOHN TRENERRY?

Title: TRENERRY of Cornwall, UK
Post by: Zelley on Sunday 17 July 05 04:54 BST (UK)
Did you check the Neil Trenerry site? ???