Whenever any such similar 'fishing' might have taken place in an Officers' Mess, the 'fishermen' would invariably have passed a bar chit bearing their names / bar no.s through the shutters, so that no accusations of theft would be levied.
Ah, unfortunately that didn't always keep you out of the Doo do. Now before I start the story I must emphasise that it wasn't me, I wasn't there. Also I may have heard it all wrong, there's someone who occasionally visits here who was nearer to the action than me
and who may be able to tell the real story. That said, at a certain airfield in around 1980 Harry Staish took exception to the above practise. He therefore had the guilty b*****stds marched into his office, presented them with their signed chits as evidence of their crime and then threatened them with disciplinary action because as far as he was concerned drinking after hours indicated a lack of OQ's......
I believe after that dishonesty became the best policy....
Oh, the staish went on to do quite well though
there's a surprise.