Todd war diary, 3 August 1914-29 February 1916 / Arthur Todd - Page 162
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[Page 162]
and a day or so later the Roxburgh came in with more.
The Roxburgh had been torpedoed in the North Sea a month few months before and but had crept crippled into harbour playing Here we are Here we are Here we are again. She looked none the worse for her mishap.
All these money ships were met at the docks by a species of armoured train garrisoned by bloodthirsty looking Yanks with carrying enormous hand guns. These convoyed the stuff to New York by rail.
As a result of this vast influx of English gold into [indecipherable] the rate of exchange for the sovereign fell from $4.86 to $4.58 which of course meant more sovereigns for any given number of dollars. So the next ship brought over not English sovereigns but American gold pieces and greenbacks - their own legal tender - and thus were the cute New Yorkers circumvented by their stupid English cousins.
I asked one of the Argylls if they didnt find it a relief to get away for a spell from the North Sea. No damn fear he said. There is too much ruddy war here - in the North Sea we get leave every afternoon