£/Franc Exchange Rate in Great War

[ianw]

I know that soldiers serving on the Western Front were paid directly in local currency but does anyone know if a fixed exchange rate was applied throughout the war. Also was this exchange rate fair to the men. Would officers with access to their own funds be able to obtain a better rate of exchange ? Was there a black market in currency ? One presumes that the value of the franc may have slipped on occasions e.g April 1918.

[Joe Sweeney]

Ian,

The official exchange rate was fixed monthly. A little bit of this info is found in GRO 1698. The same rate of exchange was manditory whether paid from field cashier or an exchange was made through any type of Canteen. So an officer would get the same rate. An officer technically would only have access to British money if he was in the UK. A Field Cashier would only pay an Officer in Francs and only if sufficient funds were available with the officers agent. Could someone get a better exchange rate through a non official source? possibly, but the fixing of exchange rates protected the soldier from market variables.

Joe Sweeney

[ianw]

Thanks Joe. I take your point about protection from variation but wonder if the possessor of a gold sovereign would do better doing a deal with a local i.e would he get more for his gold than a pound on the cashiers ledger.

I also wonder if the French introduced a new Franc during the war to obliterate the value of all those francs kept under the bed. Also interesting to know how exchange rates compared say from 1910 to 1918.