Letter from Israel Sieff 1916

A letter from Israel Sieff to M&S Company Secretary, August 1916. For several years after the deaths of original founders Michael Marks and Tom Spencer, their legal executors took control of M&S and one of them, William Chapman, became the Chairman of the company. Young Simon became more directly involved with the business, along with Thomas Spencer Junior; by 1912 they were both junior directors and chief buyers in the company their fathers had established. Simon worked hard and showed great entrepreneurial flair, and by 1914 he had been appointed as a senior director. Despite this success, Simon was often in conflict with the Chairman. Eventually Simon took the matter to court, and in August 1916 won his place as Chairman of M&S aged 28. The letter above contains the request for Simon's promotion as an item on the agenda.

A PDF transcript is available in the Resources section.