Crate Expectations

I remember, from my childhood, many TV real life dramas and animated features where the villain of the peace ended up being put into a packing crate and was mailed off, more often as not, to a place called Timbuctoo.

It seemed to me then to be a fitting form of retribution for those who had suffered at the hands of the perpetrator through the 90 minutes or so of the on screen adventure although it was a bit of a shock to find out that the destination with the funny name was in fact a real place in North Africa.

Perhaps the same thought process was a contributory factor behind the actions of Reg Spears who in 1964, aged 23 years, packed himself into a wooden crate and travelled by airfreight from London to Australia.

By way of background Spears was from Adelaide and an accomplished athlete in the Javelin who competed for Australia in the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth, Western Australia.

He was a large character, physically and in his outlook on life.

Prevented by injury from going to the Summer Games, the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 he turned up at the home of a former fellow athlete in London, England and crashed out there for much of the remainder of the year.

Spears, jobless and an amateur athlete was typically short of money and acquaintances remember that in order to get around the area he had a practice of standing out in the middle of the road, thumb outstretched forcing motorists to either give him a ride or run him down.

It appeared to be a bit of a season of partying and an easy going life for the affable Aussie but this was to be short lived as there was the more pressing matter of trying to get back to Adelaide to his family as it was close to the birthday of his daughter.

A job at London Airport working for Air France in the freight transport warehouse gave him an opportunity to save up towards a one-way flight and things were going well until his wallet was stolen and his funds were wiped out.

 It was a time for desperate measures.

The freight recieved at the airport where he was employed included crates used for animal transit and these were amongst the largest permitted at Imperial dimensions of 5 feet by 3 feet by 2 and a half feet.

Spears worked out that this volume would accommodate his large physique either sitting up with legs straight or lying back with legs bent. Friends helped him fabricate a box of that maximum size in their flat. To avoid being trapped if the crate were stacked tightly to a wall or other boxes it had two false ends with wooden release catches. The slatted wood had to be internally lined to avoid the contents being seen but there was still a good view out for the occupant.

In order to authenticate the posting of the crate and its cargo it was necessary to establish Companies in London and Perth. A label would indicate a fictitious inventory of Plastic Emulsion and to be signed and paid for on delivery, a major cost saving factor.

Spears had some intentions of selling his story, if successful to the Media to cover freight costs.

His London based friends took the box to the Airport to be checked in.

There were no concerns about potential for discovery, injury or fatality. Being an Aussie there could be no accusation of illegal entry if his plan were rumbled in his home nation.

The crate was equipped with supplies for an anticipated 30 hour incarceration. Foodstuffs included baked beans and liquids and with a torch, pillow, bag of clothing. a bottle to urinate in and all tied down with strapping in case the box were rotated in the process of loading and unloading on the flight.

To prepare himself for the possible starvation experience Spears fasted for the week before the journey with the same level of enthusiasm previously applied to his top flight athletic status.

There was an initial setback in that London Airport was fog bound delaying the flight until the following morning. Other worrying events were to follow. The first stopover was Paris then onto Bombay and Singapore. At each stop there was a risk of discovery and forced expulsion as the cargo in the hold was removed, supplemented and re-arranged. A fork lift truck in the hands of a novice driver did not engage the prongs correctly and Spears had to throw his body weight around to correct a potential nasty over balance and toppling.  He was able to get out when safe and stretch his cramped limbs and have a pee. On one occasion he forgot to remove an empty beer can of urine from atop the crate but the airport staff attributed this to a British worker rather than it arousing suspicions of a stowaway.

In the long dark hours Spears was left to his own imagination and thoughts. There was no real exposure to cold or discomfort and the thought of hundreds of passengers directly above the cargo hold having paid full fare was a matter of much amusement.

Arriving at Perth some 60 hours later saw the crate deposited in a Bonded Warehouse at the airport perimeter. Dressed in a crumpled suit Spears disengaged himself from the box, climbed out of a window and casually on reaching the street got a bus to the City Centre.

His final destination and daughters party was still 1600 miles away in Adelaide but in true Reg style he blagged rides and fares from the likes of a Catholic Priest and the Salvation Army.

He made the celebration in time but omitted to let his friends know of his safe arrival. This prompted concerned enquiries between London and a Sydney based journalist as to the whereabouts of the intrepid traveller.

When traced a media storm erupted and recriminations began. Spears was summoned to the Airline Offices to explain his actions and pay his outstanding airfreight bills but faced with embarrassment and bad publicity they agreed not to pursue compensation.

Spears did not at the time have any real intentions to make big money out of his fabulous story, he just wanted to get home, but retrospectively, now aged 73 he has expressed some regret that he did not exploit the tremendous amount of interest that his dramatic exploit generated on a worldwide basis and make a crate load of cash.