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

Banking Banknotes Queue Shortage

Features In These Collections

> Contributors > MEP