From my fathers memoirs When we got to Calais we had to change our money into LSD and the limit was £50 but very few had that amount in credit even though we never drew any pay while in Europe. I went through and got £40 changed and they stamped my pay book, at the other end was a Scots Guardsman and he wanted me to go back through and get £50 worth of Guilders changed for him. I said I’d already been through but he said to try again and if it didn’t work it wouldn’t matter, so he gave me the Guilders. I went through again and got away with it but I couldn’t find him when I came out. I hunted high and low for him and eventually found him and gave him the £50, he gave me £10 but I could have walked away with the lot. When we left our unit we were warned about taking guns into the UK as a few of us had held onto Lugers as souvenirs, so if we were caught we would be returned to our units and lose our leave. When the boat was coming into Dover harbour there were a lot of splashes as souvenirs were thrown overboard. One fellow walked down the gangplank pushing a brand new pram with a wireless set in it but the Customs men just ignored him and seemed to concentrate on the officers. When Gen. Horrocks visited the Gordon Highlanders in Jan 45 he told them about a German field cashier who was captured and robbed at Walcheren by a Jock from the 52nd Div. The German had waved a piece of paper which he thought was his receipt for the money he had surrendered, on which was written, “This bastard had 11000 guilders. He hasn’t got them now! From So Few Got Through by Martin Lyndsey I wonder if it was a Scots Guardsman ?
During June 2003 in southern Iraq, a joint UK/US patrol found four black plastic bags stuffed full of Iraqi banknotes, in an abandoned, wrecked vehicle. The bags were returned to our base whereupon the American S2 (Intelligence Officer) said the contents should be destroyed. Two of the bags sound their way back to the British compound where it was decided to put the contents to good use. The Americans burned the contents of the first two bags, we Brits decided to recycle and utilise the contents of the other two bags by; * Buying fresh produce in the local markets * Paying our local informants for information * Selling some of the notes 2 second line/newly arrived American personnel (always on the lookout for Iraqi souvenirs) * "Buying" US Dollars (at very favourable rates) from the Iraqi souvenir sellers outside the camp gates (whose clientele were mainly American personnel who paid in dollars) * Totally funding a joint UK/US BBQ for around 60 military personnel The money wasn't ours and it was suspected that it had been looted at some stage (but not by us) and then abandoned for some reason. Rather than destroy it we made use of it and as far as we knew no-one (except perhaps the original unknown owners and the looters) had been disadvantaged. Were we wrong?
Putting in back into the local economy same as quantitative easing and sharing it around just what was needed so not wrong
If you were in the right area, at the right time and in the right unit, you may well have done. You might also remember how appreciative our American guests were (especially the S2), which went a long way to oiling the wheels - and all for "free"!! British ingenuity!!
Some Original photos of T Force, from my collection. They used Humber cars with none military reg numbers when in the russian zone. Keith
Original photo of T Force, from my collection. They used Humber cars with none military reg numbers when in the russian zone. Keith