After the end of the Second World War, the British army decided it was rather unwise to ship large amounts of hard cash into hostile environments abroad. From 1946 onwards, they began to issue their own banknotes that could be spend by soldiers in the canteen and later the NAAFI (Navy, Army, Air-force Institute). They were only redeemable at British army shops by British soldiers, so it was pointless to try and steal them. There were 6 issues (including a very rare 5th issue which seem only to have been released in tiny numbers). Well done if you have one of those, they are worth a mint! But, as usual, at the Mobile Museum we measure value in terms of interest. So my favourite of them all is this one:
Wonderful. It's third series, which was issued in 1956 for the Suez War, a much under-studied and forgotten war. You rarely see anything in terms of artefacts turn up for this conflict, so I'm very chuffed that we have this. In fact, the Suez War is a key conflict in our 'Helping History' project (find out more on our website: http://www.strange-old-things-the-mobile-museum.co.uk/helping-history-project/) Anyway, this note was one of four that we were very kindly given mid-show at a WW1 exhibition we did for a Armed Forces event on July 17th. £1 was the highest denomination available in this series.
THE SUEZ WAR
Rather a fiasco I'm afraid. Perhaps why it has been swept under the bulging carpet of forgotten fights. Basically in July 1956 Egypt rather rudely decided to nationalise the Suez canal, lifeblood of European trade from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean. Without the canal, you have to sail all the way around Africa, which quickly becomes tiresome. Nasser, the Egyptian President, was a bit too cosy with the Communist powers for Britain's liking, who teamed up with France and Israel to launch an invasion. Despite achieving the limited military objectives, the attack was almost universally condemned as a quasi-imperialist venture (which it probably was) and pressure from the USSR and US forced the occupation to end. Israel, who gained concessions elsewhere, was really the only net winner. The war was not popular in Britain, and cost the Prime Minister, Eden, the next election.
BRITISH FORCES MONEY TODAY
To this day British Forces use the same principal to manage hard currency in operational environments. Although the Dollar is the near-universal currency on Allied camps in Afghanistan, bizarre little cardboard tokens have been issued as small change substitutes. They are affectionately known as 'pogs' after the '90s collectors game. But they're not nearly as pretty...
Wonderful. It's third series, which was issued in 1956 for the Suez War, a much under-studied and forgotten war. You rarely see anything in terms of artefacts turn up for this conflict, so I'm very chuffed that we have this. In fact, the Suez War is a key conflict in our 'Helping History' project (find out more on our website: http://www.strange-old-things-the-mobile-museum.co.uk/helping-history-project/) Anyway, this note was one of four that we were very kindly given mid-show at a WW1 exhibition we did for a Armed Forces event on July 17th. £1 was the highest denomination available in this series.
THE SUEZ WAR
Rather a fiasco I'm afraid. Perhaps why it has been swept under the bulging carpet of forgotten fights. Basically in July 1956 Egypt rather rudely decided to nationalise the Suez canal, lifeblood of European trade from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean. Without the canal, you have to sail all the way around Africa, which quickly becomes tiresome. Nasser, the Egyptian President, was a bit too cosy with the Communist powers for Britain's liking, who teamed up with France and Israel to launch an invasion. Despite achieving the limited military objectives, the attack was almost universally condemned as a quasi-imperialist venture (which it probably was) and pressure from the USSR and US forced the occupation to end. Israel, who gained concessions elsewhere, was really the only net winner. The war was not popular in Britain, and cost the Prime Minister, Eden, the next election.
BRITISH FORCES MONEY TODAY
To this day British Forces use the same principal to manage hard currency in operational environments. Although the Dollar is the near-universal currency on Allied camps in Afghanistan, bizarre little cardboard tokens have been issued as small change substitutes. They are affectionately known as 'pogs' after the '90s collectors game. But they're not nearly as pretty...
No comments:
Post a Comment