ABSTRACT
There is no question that severe underlying problems caused the guardians of the pound's stability ever-increasing difficulties from the moment sterling was returned to the gold standard in April 1925. The Americans and the French were adamantly opposed to a rise in Bank rate and/or a loss of gold. The British knew they needed allies both to provide credits and to form a united front behind which to fight off the attack. The British reluctance to use gold was initially a response to external pressure; by early September this was no longer the case. The loss of the battle for the gold standard had consequences both expected and unexpected for Great Britain. The domestic effects of the British departure from the gold standard were rather more unexpected. Even as astute an observer as J. M. Keynes believed at the end of August that the British public would not favour devaluation.
