The excerpt is from a letter to my Mum dated August 13,
1945. My Dad began writing it by hand at his post in Utrecht, and finished it
later that day on the typewriter (he said it was faster to type than write).
It's #164; they numbered all the airmail and "ordinary" letters back
and forth--although Mum often lost track.
On Wednesday, August 8, he and a friend went to Brussels, where his brother Jim was stationed, and then on the weekend, Doug and Jim went to Ghent to see Jim's fiancée, Betty, and her family. It was in Ghent that he did the shopping.
As of June, 2016, I have the decanter and 3 of the glasses,
and have started to use them often.
How much was 1350
Belgian francs worth in August 1945? I'm not exactly sure, but their supper at the
Canada Club (probably subsidized for servicemen) cost 20 francs. My research
and calculations show the amount was worth about $30 (US) at the time, which
would be equivalent to about $400 now. Definitely a purchase you'd want to
think over for a while.
The postwar Belgian authorities aimed to
maintain an exchange rate of 176.6 francs to the pound sterling, and 43.70
francs to the U.S. dollar. (http://encyclopedia-of-money.blogspot.ca/2010/01/belgian-monetary-reform-19441945.html)
How Much things cost in 1945 Average Cost of new house $4.600.00 Average wages per year $2,400.00 Cost of a gallon of Gas15 cents Average Cost for house rent $60.00 per month Girls Dolls House $3.19 Average Cost New Car $1,020.00 Ladies Fur Coat $70.00 Men's Shirt $2.50 Portable Typewriter $68.37 (http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1945.html)
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