The Bank of England at the beginning of World War I
The prospect of a shortage of gold owing to the threatened rupture of financial relations with the Continent resulted in a highly unusual spectacle at the Bank of England in London. From noon onwards on 31st July 1914 the courtyard was occupied by a changing queue of people keen to change their banknotes into gold. On 1 August 1914 the bank rate rose to 10 per cent, the highest since May 1866, and an indication of the gravity of the European situation at the outbreak of war
Picture No
13989609
Media ID
45687216
Size
5500px x 3753px
(2.2MB)
Credit
Mary Evans Picture Library
Source
Unattributed photograph in Nelson's Portfolio of Pictures', page 16
Date
1914
