[David_Hayward (RIP)]

Shane you may or may not know that the Brtish acquired all available Australian wool:

'.The Principal Supply Officers’ Committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence [which had direct contacts with Principal Supply Officers or equivalent in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and no doubt South Africa] tried to pilot through the 1937 Imperial Conference an agreement with Canada concerning wartime supplies of bauxite [aluminium ore] and aluminium itself. The Conference pronounced against any commitments in peacetime for the supply of raw materials in war . However, the plan was not abandoned, and on July 1938 the C.I.D. itself revived the proposals and in the autumn of 1938 the Board of Trade entered into negotiations with Empire producers for the bulk purchase of a number of commodities, initially lead, zinc and wool. The contract for the purchase of the entire wool clip of Australia and New Zealand was finally concluded in October 1939. The Ministry of Supply was established in August 1939, and the Ministry then immediately established the Raw Materials Department, which was then subjected to diktats from the War Cabinet’s Materials Priority Sub-Committee by the end of October 1939. Wool, aluminium and bauxite were treated as ‘essential’ commodities amongst others, and subjected to statutory controls of licensing, purchase and distribution as part of the first war legislation passed. However, allocations of wool did not start in the U.K. until March 1940 , reflecting delays in collecting the orders, shipping them to the U.K., and then storage. Given the extreme priority given by Whitehall to the acquisition of wool for uniforms, coats, blankets, etc., and the acceptance of sterling in Australasia, as well as maintenance of exports in reverse trade, there would have been no wool to exchange with Germany from 1938 to some time after cessation of hostilities even if the war had ended in the autumn of 1940..'

This is an extract from a text that I have published. Basically Australia and NZ were prepared to accept Pounds Sterling for the essential wool. However my guess is that with the equippage of the AIF, NZEF, and [re cotton] Indian Army for the Mid-East some sort of barter deal was done by way of vehicles for wool/cotton which was valued in Sterling, just as General Motors handled all inter-corporation sales in US Dollars through New York.

If you can find definitive evidence of sales of vehicles for wool or hard evidence as to how the 'pool' worked with regard to vehicles I shall be eternally grateful. I may have to re-write my PhD thesis...that's why it is so important to me at least.

ADDED: may I ask for detials of the PM's Files references please to quote as authority?