Now if you are in Devon right now, Bonfire Night, you may already be aware of our first event, which is the Ottery St. Mary Tar Barrel Roll. This is held every year on Bonfire Night - unless that falls on a Sunday and then this event is moved.
This is a spectacular event, which can only be competed in by people who were either born in the town, or have supported it by opening a business there. Those people carry a barrel on their backs and race through the town, visiting local hostelries along the way. There is a twist though....
The hostelries are chosen by a simple method, for they are the ones who have applied to sponsor a barrel. Nearer the event, this barrel arrives, and once it does the proprietors start soaking it liberally with tar. Then, on the night of the race, as the crowd yells out that the runners are on their way towards one of the hostelries, their barrel is set ablaze, and hoisted aloft on to the shoulders of the group of participants when they arrive.
Another twist is that as the race progresses, the barrels get heavier, and heavier, until the last one, which is truly massive.
As for the origins of the event, we are told it started in the seventeenth century, but we are not entirely sure whether this is true or not - some say it dates back centuries further. There are also lots of rumours about it being connected with smugglers and smuggling, and if we think about this, the burning would be a pretty good way to get rid of any evidence, whilst the liberal coating of tar would also cover up any incriminating smells. And it would also explain why the runners stop at local inns, to change barrels, disposing of many all in one night....
This set is, therefore, an excellent link, especially as it shows the way that the barrels were often altered to hide contents from the probings of the law.
It was first described in our original Ogdens reference book, RB.15, issued in 1949, as :
155. 50. SMUGGLERS AND SMUGGLING. Fronts printed by letterpress in colour. Backs in grey, with descriptive text. Home issue, 1932-3.
It is shortened, in our World Tobacco Issues Indexes, to :
SMUGGLERS AND SMUGGLING. Sm. Nd. (50)