This is a brief guide to help you with your research. The National Archives holds most surviving English and many surviving Irish records of Customs officers. They are held in several different series, mainly within the CUST department records. There is no single index of people or places that can be used to find service records, so your search for information might require some patience.
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What do I need to know before I start?
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Try to find out:
- in which county the person was posted
- the dates of his service
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What records can I see online?
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Consult Parliamentary Papers for published reports of Customs activities. They can be searched online from subscribing organisations.
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What records can I find at The National Archives at Kew?
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Excise Board minute books (1696-1874)
Browse the Catalogue in CUST 47 for minute books which contain information on the first and later postings of Customs officers, with any praise or censure. These records have not been indexed, so you will need to search records for the relevant years.
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Pension records and staff lists (1642-1970)
Browse the Catalogue in CUST 39 for pension records and staff lists of Customs officers. These records have not been indexed, so you will need to search records for the relevant years.
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Quarterly bills of salaries (1675-1829)
Browse the Catalogue in CUST 18 and CUST 19 for quarterly bills of salaries and pay lists.
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To access these records you will either need to visit us, commission research (£there will be a charge) or, where you can identify a specific record referencea unique set of letters and numbers identifying a document in The National Archives, order a copy (£there will be a charge).
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What records can I find in other archives and organisations?
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Scottish records
Contact the National Archives of Scotland for records of Customs officers in Scotland.
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Irish records
Contact the National Archives of Ireland and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland for some surviving Irish records of Customs officers.
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Cornish records
Contact the Courtney Library at the Royal Institution of Cornwall and the Cornwall Record Office, for records about Customs officers in Cornwall.
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What other resources will help me find information?
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Books
Consult Ham's Customs Year Book and Ham's Inland Revenue Year Book, available in major research libraries. These are indexed directories of Customs officers, Excise men and Inland Revenue officials covering 1875 to 1930.
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Excise officers
Coastguard
Royal Navy commissioned officers