| In August 1916, it had been
stated in Parliament that in Britain the purchasing power
of the sovereign (a gold coin valued at £1) had fallen
to 12 shillings and 9 pence (about 66p) compared with its
pre-war value. In addition, there were shortages of foodstuffs
caused by loss of merchant shipping, commissioning of vessels
for war work, lower levels of production at home because
of the lack of men to work the land, and the fact that the
needs of the Armed Forces had to come first. All of these
factors applied to the Channel Islands, in particular the
problems with food getting in. In addition, Davis ()
notes that during the latter part of the war demands for
increased wages led to further increase in prices.
The chart below shows relative values for the years 1910
to 1919.
|
Year
|
Price index
1974=100%
|
Value of the pound
1974=100 pence
|
Change in prices on year before
|
| 1910 |
9.4
|
1,063
|
0.9%
|
| 1911 |
9.4
|
1,061
|
0.1%
|
| 1912 |
9.7
|
1,031
|
3.0%
|
| 1913 |
9.7
|
1,035
|
-0.4%
|
| 1914 |
9.6
|
1,038
|
-0.3%
|
| 1915 |
10.8
|
922
|
12.5%
|
| 1916 |
12.8
|
781
|
18.1%
|
| 1917 |
16.0
|
624
|
22.5%
|
| 1918 |
19.6
|
511
|
22.0%
|
| 1919 |
21.5
|
465
|
10.1%
|
Davis also notes that during the first year of the war,
even though food supplies were good, prices began to rise.
The potato crop of 1916 failed, pushing prices up further,and
increasing problems with fulfilling the demand.
Davis lists the prices of common foods at the time of
writing (unknown but pre 1920) with pre-war prices:-
|
Food
|
Pre-war price
|
Present price
|
| Bread (4lb loaf) |
6½d
|
1s 0½d
|
| Beef (best cuts), per lb. |
10d
|
2s 4d
|
| Butter, per lb (Guernsey) |
1s 8d
|
3s 2d
|
| Sugar, per 3 lb. |
5½d
|
1s 6d
|
| Milk, per pint |
2d
|
3d
|
| Flour, per 3 lb |
6½d
|
1s 2d
|
| Lard, per lb |
8d
|
1s 10d
|
| Potatoes, per denerel |
7d
|
1s 0d
|
| Tea, per lb |
1s 4d
|
2s 2d
|
| Eggs, per doz. |
1s 6d
|
4s 6d
|
| Bacon, per lb (when procurable) |
1s 6d
|
2s 10d
|
| Cheese (best) per lb (when procurable) |
10d
|
1s 10d
|
| Tinned salmon |
10d &11d
|
3s 0d
|
| Sardines |
5½d
|
1s 2½d
|
| Onions, per lb |
0¾d
|
4d to 10d
|
| Tinned fruit |
10d
|
3s 0d
|
| Dried apricots, per lb |
8d
|
2s 0d
|
| Mushrooms, per lb |
5d
|
2s 0d
|
| Honey, per lb |
1s 6d
|
2s 6d
|
| Currants, per lb |
4d to 7d
|
1s 3d
|
| Raisins, per lb |
5d to 7d
|
1s 4d
|
| Oranges (20) |
1s 0d
|
-
|
| Oranges (each) |
-
|
8d
|
|
