MARTINIOUE GOLD
SAFE IN ALLIED CUSTODY IN SPITE OF VICHY ORDERS TO SINK IT IN DEEP WATER Writing from Forte-De-France, Martinique, in August last, a correspondent of the “Christian Science Mdnitor” stated that despite repeated orders from the Vichy Government to sink some 285,000,000 dollars’ worth of gold coin stored in Fort Desaix’s casemates, France’s greatest single cache of wealth is safe in Allied hands. Officials, the correspondent adds, recently found messages from Vichy in Government House, ordering Admiral Robert to resist with force any intervention of internal uprising and to sink the gold and scuttle the French warships and merchantmen in France’s harbour. The were sent on an average of once every three days. Plans for sinking the gold in the event of foreign attack had been completed. The 8,766 boxes of metal were to be loaded aboard one of the ships and taken to sea at a point known for its great depth. Here, where the sea is too deep for successful diving and retrievement, the gold was to be dumped overboard and the ship itself scuttled. With Colonel Pierre de Chevigne, , member of the French delegation from Washington and interim chief of the island’s police and military establishments, leading the way, a guard of honour greeted the inspection party at the fort’s gateway. The colonel led the way toward the gold-studded casemates holding the coin from the Banque de France. CONTAINED IN “SHOE BOXES” An air of heavy somnolence hung over the fort as the party descended the underground stairs. A sergeant in charge of a detachment of four negro Soldiers shouted “Hyp!” The guards came to rigid attention. Beyond the heavily armoured door were the treasured casemates with concrete walls and arched ceilings. The containers, each holding about 32,000 dollars in coins of various'nations, resemble so many boxes in a shoe store. Most of the coins are French louis d’or, or 20 franc piecOs of the days when the franc was more valuable, but one third of the total is in United States 5 and 10 dollar coins. . , The “shoeboxes” are piled to shoulder height within three casemates about 50 feet underground and further protected by an additional 40-foot rampart built above the ground at the fort’s inner wall. The boxes are sealed with heavy steel bands which require some time to break. COINS OF LATIN UNION About two months agb, the United States naval observer, Captain A. S. Hickey, and Marcel Malige, the Consul, inspected the vaults to ascertain the presence of the gold. Accompanied by the local manager of the Banque de France, M. de Katof, who alone holds the key to the armoured doorway, Captain Hickey, and M. Malige found that French officials had obligingly placed bne of the heavy boxes on the floor, ready for opening. The bank manager told the inspectors, however, that they could choose any of the 8,766 boxes and, according to the story recited in Fort-de-France’s Cafes, Captain Hickey pointed to a box in an obscure corner near the bottom of the pile. It took several soldiers a quarter of an hour to dislodrge it and drag it to the centre of the room where it was opened. Inside was found a large sack containing several smaller sacks. Opening one of these the inspectors found glittering coins of the Latin Monetary Union. Captain Hickey plunged his hand in the sack, drew out a handful of coins and let them fall through his fingers. The American officials were thus satisfied the gold was still there, and so they reported to Washington.
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Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 October 1943, Page 4
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592MARTINIOUE GOLD Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 October 1943, Page 4
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