dogle (#8666),
...and not least Spitfire-trained VAT inspectors...
The 1973 intake into Customs & Excise (recruited by open competitive examination to man-up VAT) had brought in a very mixed bunch indeed.
In my District, as I recall, we had a Master Mariner, a charming young lady who'd been a Third Officer on a tanker in the Gulf, a REME Captain, a less young but still charming schoolmistress and myself. Fortunately our Boss ("Surveyor" in Customs parlance), who had started after war service, had been a Sergeant in 81 (West African) Division in the Arakan at the same time as me, so we had many a good old chinwag !
And "on the road" (four days a week) a RAF connection often came to light. I particularly remember one Antiques shop I visited in a North York moors village. The proprietor was nervously defensive (a common reaction), until my glance fell on a silver-framed photograph in his office. It was of a Liberator in an obvious Bengal setting. "Salbani ?" I hazarded, "159 Squadron ?". He lit up like a lamp "Yes ! - and you ?"
I need hardly tell you that not much time was wasted on
his VAT Account ! Out came the best crockery, the Earl Grey, and the chocky bikkies - and the Queen's Revenue could take a back seat. (I squared my conscience with the thought that I would be "doing" the pub down the road next week, and would be sure of a few thousand "tickle" there - pubs were my specialty).
Danny.