Private George Crook

When I got to Port Said the Customs come and he said to me "What have you got in your bag?" I said "I have got a tablecloth, it is silk". "Oh" he said "Who is that for?" "It is for my Mother". I said "I have 2 leather camels for her mantelpiece." "What, your Mum's mantelpiece?" I said "Yes". He said "What else have you got then?" I said "cushion covers; they have tapestry". "That is OK" he said, "Are you sure it is for your Mum?" I said "Yes". He put a big blue cross on my kit bag and he said "On your way then". Of course I could not go far as there was a bit of a wait. The next chap, his kit bag stood up to perfect attention. Perfectly round, nothing sort of sticking outside and the customs bloke says "What have you got there?" "My kit". He said "Really?" He said "That is the tidiest kit bag I have ever seen in my life. Open it out". I don’t know if you remember but there used to be these round tins of cigarettes,about 50 cigarettes in a tin. They were round tins and he had dumped his kit, this person, and he had rammed all these freebies because customs in England used to send them out to the armed forces. They used to confiscate them from various people and used to send them out and you used to have a ration but I never smoked you see. Obviously he was a smoker and, people who did not smoke, you could probably cadge them off them. He got done for smuggling in I don’t know how many cigarettes and for abandoning his kit.