The earliest recorded information relating to this gang was in 1733, two years before information on the Hawkhurst Gang is found. However, the gangs were in relatively close proximity to each other, considering the range of the smugglers which was often remarkable for their time. Frequently the names of individuals are found as operating with both the Groombridge and Hawkhurst Gangs.

In a letter written in 1737 it is indicated that Robert Moreton was closely associated with John Bowra (also known as Young Bowra) although it is not totally clear whether Bowra was actually part of the Groombridge Gang. However, there is little doubt that Moreton and Bowra frequently worked together and in the same letter it states that carriers where coming down from London almost every day to collect tea from Groombridge.

Smugglers.

• Bowra, John - b.1713 at Groombridge where he later built a house costing £500. He was also a Land Surveyor. His Father was John Bowra, a Groombridge churchwarden and his Grandfather was Thomas Bowra, a surgeon from Sevenoaks. (1737)
• Moreton, Robert - Although the leader of the Groombridge Gang, Mr. Moreton also rode with the Hawkhurst Gang and was known to have been with them when a Thomas Carswell was shot and killed at Silver Hill outside Robertsbridge (Sussex). (1740)
  
  
  

  The Hawkhurst Gang. (1735 - 1749)
  
  

  The Oak and Ivy Pub, Hawkhurst. © P.E. Blanche 2000	The Interior of the Public Bar The Oak and Ivy Pub, Hawkhurst. © P.E. Blanche 2000

The Mermaid Inn, Rye, Sussex © P.E. Blanche 2000

The first reference to this gang in 1735 showed them as being the "Holkhourst Genge". It was the most notorious of the Kent gangs and were feared for miles round their home base of the Village of Hawkhurst where their headquarters, The Oak And Ivy Inn still stands. The Gang, in their heyday, ranged the full length of the South Coast although they were perfectly situated for working the Marshes which begin three miles from Hawkhurst. It was claimed that when needed for a smuggling run, 500 mounted and armed men could be assembled in the village within an hour. They were also only 13 miles from Rye, one of their favourite haunts. It was not uncommon for the Gang to be seen in the Mermaid Inn in Rye (the Inn still stands and is basically unchanged to this day) where they would sit and drink with loaded guns and pistols on the tables. They looked after their own but had no mercy for anyone that interfered or got in their way.

On one occasion, the Hawkhurst Gang were involved in unloading a huge consignment of tea from the Herne Bay area with two other gangs, one from Sussex and another from Folkestone. The cargo was eleven and a half tons and required 350 pack horses to move it. There was a dispute over the removal of the goods which resulted in a bitter fight between the rival gangs and the Hawkhurst Gang made off with more than 40 of the horses belonging to the Folkestone Gang. This happened on April 1, 1746 and illustrates the amount of goods that were being landed.

Another well recorded incident involving the Gang occured in 1747 when a soldier, George Sturt, having returned from the wars, decided that he had seen enough trouble caused by the Gang in his village of Goudhurst. He formed a Militia Group to defend the village and keep the smugglers away. Thomas Kingsmill heard about the intended resistance to his authority in the area and attacked the village. There was fierce fighting, especially near the Church of St. Mary but eventually the smugglers, who possibly underestimated their opponents, were driven from the village leaving three of their number dead.

The Village of Goudhurst from the Church.

Probably the most infamous event the Gang was known for, was the murder of Daniel Chater and William Galley. The incident also gives a good idea of the range of this Gang. The Gang together with members of a Gang from Colchester had a cargo seized by the Customs at Poole in Dorset. Seven of the Hawkhurst Gang, led by Thomas Kingmill, together with members of the other Gang rode to Poole and recovered the majority of the goods including two tons of tea! There was basically no resistance. As they made their way back to the East Coast, they stopped in Fordingbridge for breakfast and one of the members of the Gang, John Dimer was recognised by an acquaintance, Daniel Chater, a shoemaker. He was actually given a package of tea by Dimer. Because of his bragging about the event, Chater was arrested and 'persuaded' by the Customs officers at Poole to give evidence against Dimer. He was collected by William Galley, a Customs officer freom Southampton but when they stopped for refreshments at an Inn their convesation was overheard and a group of the Hawkhurst smugglers soon arrived. Chater and Galley were tied, back to back, on a horse with their legs tied together under the girth. They were then whipped by the Gang members until Galley died. Chater, who was still concious, was thrown down a well and bombarded with logs and rocks from which wounds, he also died. As the result of this incident, and another in which a man was unjustly accused and executed for supposedly stealing some tea from the Gang, public opinion turned against the Gang. This eventually led to the capture and arrest of the senior members of the Gang in 1749.

Smugglers.

• Carter, William - (of Hampshire) involved in the kidnapping of Chater and Galley. He was eventually caught, hung and gibbeted for his part in the affair. (1747)
• Cobby, John - involved in the kidnapping and murder of Chater and Galley. He was eventually caught, hung and gibbeted for his part in the affair. (1747)
• Dimer (or Dymer, or Diamond), John - (also known as "The Shepherd") - a member of the Gang who was arrested after being identified by Daniel Chater. Chater was later murdered by the Gang before he could give evidence at a trial. (1747)
• Fairall, William - one of the senior members of the Gang who is known to have been with Thomas Kingsmill at Poole when the Customs House was raided. He was eventually captured after the Galley/Chater murders and tried at the Old Bailey. He received the death sentence and was hung at Tyburn on April 26, 1749. His body was taken and hung in chains at his home village of Horsmonden in what is now known as Gibbet Lane. (1747)
• Gray, Arthur - The first 'known' leader of the Hawkhurst Gang. Arrested and incarcerated for highway robbery in 1747. (1740 - 1747)
• Gray, William - The brother of Arthur Gray and senior member of the Gang. He was arrested in October, 1747 but was released on a technicality. He had not been named as a smuggler in the London Gazette as he should have been at that time. Had also once been a prisoner at Newgate for the inability to meet a Crown debt. (1740 - 1747)
• Hammond, John - a labourer of South Bersted - involved in the kidnapping and murder of Chater and Galley. He was eventually caught, hung and gibbeted for his part in the affair. (1747)
• Jackson, William - involved in the kidnapping of Chater and Galley. He was eventually caught and sentenced to be hung and gibbeted for his part in the affair. The sentence was never carried out as Jackson died of 'fright' (probably a heart attack), two hours after being measured for a gibbet cage by a blacksmith. (1747)
• Kemp, Thomas - a member of the gang eventually capturd by Jaclob Pring. He had also once been a prisoner at Newgate for the inability to meet a Crown debt. (1747 - 1749)
• Kingsmill, George - brother of Thomas Kingsmill, killed at the 'Battle of Goudhurst'. (1747)
• Kingsmill, Thomas - (also known as Staymaker) - took over as leader of the Gang in 1747 after Arthur Gray had been captured. He was known to be even more ruthless and brutal than his predecessor. He was eventually captured after the Galley/Chater murders and tried at the Old Bailey. He received the death sentence and was hung at Tyburn on April 26, 1749. His body was taken and hung in chains at Goudhurst Gore. (1747 - 1749)
• Little, Harry - involved in the kidnapping of Chater and Galley. (1747)
• Peen (or Peene), Thomas - a carpenter from Hawkhurst was killed during a skirmish with Riding Officers and soldiers at Hollington, East Sussex in October, 1734. It was John Hyde, Customs Officer of Hastings, who shouted "Fire!" and one of the bullets killed Peen. Peen's body was taken to the local Ale House.*
• Perrin, Richard - supposedly one of the owners of the cargo of tea impounded at Poole Customs House. He was eventualy caught and tried with Thomas Kingsmill and William Fairall at the Old Bailey. He was hung at Tyburn on April 26, 1749. (1747 - 1749)
• Richards, Edmund - involved in the kidnapping of Chater and Galley. Was described as a violent man and as "that notorios wicked fellow".(1747)
• Steele, William - involved in the kidnapping of Chater and Galley but later turned King's evidence. (1747)
• Tapner, Benjamin - a bricklayer of Aldington - involved in the kidnapping and murder of Chater and Galley. He was eventually caught, hung and gibbeted for his part in the affair. (1747)
• Turley, William - died in the Poor House, aged 83, and was buried at East Barming in 1801. He was described as being "blasphenous and in every way worthless". He was injured in the foot at the Battle of Goudhurst in 1747 and having ridden away, had the foot amputated at Wrotham.

Smugglers. (Believed to be part of the Hawkhurst Gang but no definite reference)

• Curtis, Jeremiah - (was definitely from Hawkhurst) - was involved in the beating and murder of Richard Hawkins of Walberton, West Sussex. He evaded capture for this crime by fleeing to France.
• Mills, John - (also known as Smoker Mills) - was involved in the beating and murder of Richard Hawkins of Walberton, West Sussex. Mills was caught by Jacob Pring, a former member of the Hawkhurst Gang and sent for trial at East Grinstead. He was convicted, hung and gibbeted.
• Rowland, Richard - (known as Little Fat Back) - was involved in the beating and murder of Richard Hawkins of Walberton, West Sussex.
• Winter, Thomas - (known a The Coachman) - was involved in the beating and murder of Richard Hawkins of Walberton, West Sussex. Although caught by Jacob Pring, a former member of the Hawkhurst Gang, he escaped being convicted of the crime by giving evidence against John Mills.

• Chater, Daniel - actually a shoemaker and resident of Fordingbridge, on the Hampshire border. Was beaten, thrown in a well and stoned to death by the Gang for identifying a member of the Gang, John Dimer. (1747)
• Galley, William - was a customs official at Southampton who was assigned to escort Daniel Charter to East Marsden near Chichester to attend the trial of John Dimer. Galley was beaten and whipped by the Gang in the same way as Chater and died from his wounds. (1747)
• Marshall, James - A young resident of Rye. In approx. 1740 when the gang came to town, James became curious and got too close to the gang. He was taken away and never seen again.
• Pring, Jacob - originally a member of the Hawkhurst Gang, changed sides after the Galley/Chater murders. (1747)
• Sturt, George - formed the 'Goudhurst Militia' that defeated the Hawkhurst Gang at the 'Battle of Goudhurst'. (1747)

(* My thanks to Muriel D. Bowler for this additional information about Thomas Peen.)

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