The sterling area, or sterling bloc, began to appear informally during the early 1930s, after the pound sterling had left the gold standard in 1931, with the result that a number of currencies were pegged to sterling instead of to gold. Early in the Second World War, as an emergency measure, legislation was enacted throughout the countries of the ... Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterling_area
formerly, a group of countries that kept most of their exchange reserves at the Bank of England and, in return, had access to the London capital and ... Found on http://www.britannica.com/eb/a-z/s/160