There Was More

Russ was able to discover more than one WWII bill buried under the Cotswold Outdoor shop. He found out around 30 bundles of £1 and £5, each worth of around $1,500. Though some of them were massively damaged, covered in dirt, the metal watermarks were still visible. But even then they were still valuable.

Total Worth

Talking about the bills’ total worth, which is valued at more than £1 million, or nearly $1.3 million. But the real question was how did these bills end up in this place? What was the reason behind hiding the money under the floor? Davis said to BBC, “could have come from a bank robbery, or been stashed during the war by someone who died.” The answer to this mystery lies in the Bradley Gowns.

The Mystery Of The Bills

Bradley Gowns was in operation at the Brighton site between 1936 and 1973. As we already told you, the shop was a branch of Bradleys. This company was behind creating the “guinea gown” for those section of people who couldn’t afford expensive clothing but still wanted to look smart and dress well. And they were Winston and Clementine Churchill’s personal tailor and the shop even provided services to Brigitte Bardot and the members of the royal family. So could this be the real reason behind the stack of money which was found here? 

The Store’s History

Samuel Bradley Sr. established the first Bradleys store in the 1860s, in Chepstow Place, London. It majorly stocked ladies furs. Later in 1896, they changed its name to Bradley and Sons Arctic Fur Store and again in 1912 it was renamed to juts Bradleys. Back then it was Europe’s biggest fur specialist about which The Financial Times even ran a story featuring its relaunch and its journey so far.

The Empire

During WWI, Bradleys were the major producers of the troops’ uniform. And in the 1920s there was around 600 staff working for the company and they also had their own fashion designer. Bradleys became a brand and the company’s popular coats were really expensive, costing around $100,000 in today’s money.

Bradley’s Family

Not just the company, Bernard Bradley’s family was also involved in WWII. He was the father of two sons, Eric and Victor. Eric was the older who turned 18 on 3 September 1939, the same day the war was officially declared to the citizens. Eric joined the Royal Air Force, while his younger brother became the pilot, and neither of them returned home until 1944.