“Blitz-Bricks”
When steamers about to sail from London to the United States lack cargo they sometimes carry “blitz-bricks” as ballast. These fetch good prices, as the following letter from a New Zealand merchant navy officer to a London newspaper shows; “On a merchant ship on which I am serving we went to an American port. We had a load of bricks frpm blitzed London houses as ballast. When this was dumped oh the other Side, the bricks sold for a dollar apiece as souvenirs. Also, some of my fellow officers had their own private collections of Shrapnel, which they disposed of for small fortunes. Americans just clamoured for these things.” The writer mentions that he had been disgusted to learn that “some pf the pieces of the oak floor of the burnt-out London Guildhall had found their way into our own drawing-room fires. These would be worth as much as gold nuggets in the V.SJL”
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19410910.2.51
Bibliographic details
Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23430, 10 September 1941, Page 6
Word Count
155“Blitz-Bricks” Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23430, 10 September 1941, Page 6
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Acknowledgements
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