This is worth seeing and there's a lot more on You Tube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Ee5nflbec
This is an excellent film about the LMS Railroad and their practices. Lots of steam!! Little did they know that their country would be at war in two plus years.
Another excellent film from the LMS is "Men of the Foot Plate" which is about a teen hiring out as an engine wiper and advancing to an engine driver. The engine foreman looks like Stan Laurel!
Ed Burns
NP EddieThis is an excellent film about the LMS Railroad and their practices. Lots of steam!! Little did they know that their country would be at war in two plus years. Another excellent film from the LMS is "Men of the Foot Plate" which is about a teen hiring out as an engine wiper and advancing to an engine driver. The engine foreman looks like Stan Laurel! Ed Burns
I believe the 'smart' Englishmen could foresee in 1938 what 1939 was going to bring.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
You're right- he does look like Stan Laurel- pretty spiffy in that bowler hat!
BaltACD NP Eddie This is an excellent film about the LMS Railroad and their practices. Lots of steam!! Little did they know that their country would be at war in two plus years. Another excellent film from the LMS is "Men of the Foot Plate" which is about a teen hiring out as an engine wiper and advancing to an engine driver. The engine foreman looks like Stan Laurel! Ed Burns I believe the 'smart' Englishmen could foresee in 1938 what 1939 was going to bring.
NP Eddie This is an excellent film about the LMS Railroad and their practices. Lots of steam!! Little did they know that their country would be at war in two plus years. Another excellent film from the LMS is "Men of the Foot Plate" which is about a teen hiring out as an engine wiper and advancing to an engine driver. The engine foreman looks like Stan Laurel! Ed Burns
It has been argued that Britain was better prepared for World War II than Germany was. I have two publications from about 1938, The King's Navy and The King's Air Force which were public relations and recruiting magazines. They both referred to "open days" at dockyards and air stations. Apart from the photo of the new King on the covers it was clear that recruiting was becoming pretty serious.
The five King George V class battleships were all laid down in 1937 and 1938, only the first in January actually before King George V died. The second and third ships were Prince of Wales and Duke of York, the others being named after former Admirals. Before they were launched, The Prince of Wales had become King Edward VIII and abdicated, and the third ship, originally Anson was renamed Duke of York after the Duke of York became King George VI. Why the ship wasn't called King George VI isn't immediately clear although the similarity of names might have been confusing.
While the Government maintained a policy of trying to avoid a war in Europe, the Defence Forces were actively preparing for the failure of that policy.
About this time, Hawker Aircraft decided to build 500 Hurricane fighter aircraft without an order from the RAF. These proved very useful in early 1940.
Peter
My last question is about the coin Harry Truan and the others gave to the pay clerk at the 8:42 point on the film when receiving their pay envelopes. Was that a customery "tip" that was a usual occurance. Was the coin usually a pence? or other amount.
NP Eddie My last question is about the coin Harry Truan and the others gave to the pay clerk at the 8:42 point on the film when receiving their pay envelopes. Was that a customery "tip" that was a usual occurance. Was the coin usually a pence? or other amount. Ed Burns
Firstly this is from Men of the Footplate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdGE3a31uJQ
and not the film linked above.
I think the item being handed over is an identity disc. It is seen being collected and handed in when arriving and leaving work earlier in the movie.
I would expect that the pay packet carried the identifying number on the disc to ensure the correct pay was received.
The disc looks a bit larger than the British coins of the time, the penny (copper) and the "Two Shillings" =24 pence.
M636C:
My error and thanks for the correction.
Retired Clerk from Northtown NP BN BNSF
And 'ere I thought, twas arf-a-crown. Or maybe a bob, or thruppence? It sure weren't a golden Guinea, now or were it a farthing? (sorry, I had to)
Remember "On the Waterfront?" When the boss handed our brass discs and the men that had them worked that day? I worked with a guy who worked on the piers in the early 1950s and he said that the disc number was assigned to you and you had to return in order to get paid so I guess the disc is not just a British rail thing.
54light15 And 'ere I thought, twas arf-a-crown. Or maybe a bob, or thruppence? It sure weren't a golden Guinea, now or were it a farthing? (sorry, I had to) Remember "On the Waterfront?" When the boss handed our brass discs and the men that had them worked that day? I worked with a guy who worked on the piers in the early 1950s and he said that the disc number was assigned to you and you had to return in order to get paid so I guess the disc is not just a British rail thing.
I have seen On the Waterfront, but didn't recall the discs.
The LMS films were intentionally accurate and were to some extent a recruiting tool, so would have shown detail like that of being paid.
Australia used British style coinage until 56 years ago (14 February 1966), so as I left High School in 1965, I was familiar with the "old money" including getting paid for my part time jobs.
Half a Crown was Two Shillings and Sixpence (so required two coins)
A Bob was one shilling, a smaller silver coin.
Thrippence (three pence) was the smallest silver coin (and in Australia had a wheat sheaf on the rear side). It was about the size of a USA one cent but very thin.
A Guinea had been a gold coin, but had the value of one pound and one shilling. Racehorses were traditionally priced in Guineas, as were bills from Medical Specialists. I recall TV sets being priced in Guineas (49 Guineas = 51 pounds 9 shillings).
A Farthing was one quarter of a penny. These were obsolete in Australia during my lifetime, but remained in use in the UK. These British coins were sometimes used for retail promations in Australia where prices were quoted including farthings, and British farthings were issued in change. These could be redeemed later for special promotional sales. They had a bird standing on the ground on the reverse.
I wasn't sorry to not have to divide and multiply by twelve and twenty when counting money (twelve pennies in a shilling, twenty shillings in a pound).
One more reference to English Money:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2paSGQRwvo
I find the speaker a little annoying, but this is a very good explanation of English coins and the origins of their names and values. And indeed, the farthing did have a bird on the back.
One thing I never expected was that 240 pennies which equalled the value of a monetary Pound, actually weighed one pound weight.
I had a friend in the U.K. who in the 21st century still resented the move to decimal currency. He said there's nothing easier than "L.S.D."- pounds, shillings and pence. it's interesting how when going to the hardware store here and in the States, sixpenny nails are classifed as "6d." But, if you ask what anything costs over there, the term for pounds is "quid" as in "My pint cost 4 quid and fifty p."
54light15 I had a friend in the U.K. who in the 21st century still resented the move to decimal currency. He said there's nothing easier than "L.S.D."- pounds, shillings and pence. it's interesting how when going to the hardware store here and in the States, sixpenny nails are classifed as "6d." But, if you ask what anything costs over there, the term for pounds is "quid" as in "My pint cost 4 quid and fifty p."
The slang term of "quid" dates back a long way. The same term was used in Australia prior to 1966. The decimalisation was basically different in the UK compared to Australia: In Australia the Pound was abolished and replaced by a Dollar, where two Dollars = one Pound. As a result the term "quid" disappeared. In England the pound was retained, along with the nickname.
The silver coins were retained and added to in each system. the "Two shilling" coin in England becoming 10 p but in Australia it became 20 cents. The Sixpence becane 2-1/2 p in England but 5 cents in Australia. New copper coins were introduced in each country.
In Australia the nickname "bucks" for dollars was adopted. I believe this was also common in the USA.
They're called bucks in the USA and here in Canada. Here we have one dollar and two dollar coins. The one dollar is called a looney because there is a picture of a loon on it. The two dollar is called a toonie. It has a picture of polar bears on it but toonie it is.
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