The county of Wiltshire was once famous for its smugglers, with thousands of pounds worth of illegal brandy, tobacco and black market goods being brought in every week. They would use the many canals of the county to manoeuvre stolen goods towards the north, in which they would sell for high prices. This angered the local governments, who felt the financial sting of the uncollected taxes that usually came from legally imported goods. So they began to hire revenue agents and militias to police the lakes and rivers of the Wiltshire countryside, stopping any suspicious boats that could be carrying untaxed goods. To counter this, the smugglers began storing their cargo in out of the way places, keeping for later when the lawmen weren’t around.
And so it was that one evening a group of smugglers were looking for their previously dropped cargo in the middle of a cloudless night, trailing round and round the pond in the centre of Devizes, searching frantically. However, just as they believed they had found their goods, along walked two revenue agents. They instantly shouted for the men to halt, questioning what they were doing out so late on the village pond. The men stuttered for a few moments, unable to explain themselves without sounding suspicious. Just as the lawmen were about to arrest the men, one spoke up. He spoke in a heavy west country accent (which was a change from his usual brummy) stating that they were trying to rake the cheese block from the centre of the pond. He then indicated to the moon reflection, saying how it looked so big and round they just couldn’t leave it. His fellows followed suit, putting on country accents and rambling about cheese.
For a second, the lawmen scowled, as though they saw right through their lies. But the next moment they burst out laughing, thinking the men to be yokel farmers. They soon left, their laughs ringing through the night. But the last laugh came from the smugglers, who were able to carry away the brandy and make a massive profit.
And so it came to be that people from Wiltshire became known as “Moonrakers”, in memory of the absurd lie that saved the lives (and money) of the smugglers.