John Maynard Keynes Helped The British Government During World War I

During the First World War, the British government utilized Keynes' knowledge. A few days before hostilities began, Keynes traveled to London at the government's invitation, though he did not formally re-join the civil service that year. Bankers had been pushing for the suspension of specie payments, or the ability of banknotes to be converted into gold, but with Keynes's assistance, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (then Lloyd George) was persuaded that this would be a bad idea because payments being suspended before it was necessary would harm the city's future reputation.

Keynes began working for the Treasury as an official member of the government in January 1915. He was in charge of buying rare currencies and creating the terms of credit between Britain and its allies on the continent throughout the war. Keynes's “nerve and skill became legendary” as a result of his fulfillment of these duties, according to economist Robert Lekachman, as in the instance where he managed to assemble, with difficulty, a modest amount of Spanish pesetas.

He asked for a conscientious objector's exemption when military conscription was introduced in 1916, and it was essentially given as long as he continued working for the government.

Keynes received the Companion of the Order of the Bath award for his wartime service in the 1917 King's Birthday Honours, and his achievement led to the appointment, as the Treasury's financial representative to the 1919 Versailles peace conference, that had a profound impact on Keynes' life and career. Additionally, he was made an Officer of the Leopold Order of Belgium.