Just before Christmas 1907, Michael had a particularly tiring week. Simon described how his father: ‘…travelled to Glasgow where he had made arrangements for the purchase of chocolates from a firm called Reeves; he had travelled to Cork and back, where he had bought a considerable quantity of tinned milk in penny cans; he had travelled to London and back.’
On Christmas Eve, Michael took Simon, Tom Spencer Junior (Tom Spencer’s son) and a business friend to lunch at a hotel in Manchester. Afterwards, Michael set off for his branch in Stretford Road. Shortly after they parted, Michael collapsed in the street. When he recovered, he was taken home in a taxi and confined to bed. Three days later, he lost consciousness and died on New Year’s Eve, 31st December 1907 aged about 47.
His funeral on 2nd January 1908 drew one of the largest attendances ever seen at Manchester’s Jewish cemetery – around 30 to 40 carriages followed the cortege.
Simon wrote to a friend about his father’s death, expressing his sadness in losing his father, but also the new responsibility he felt.
“The responsibility which so suddenly descended on me has aged me by ten years. At least that is how I feel. Nothing changes and ages a man like grief and worry does.”
The letter is written on official Marks & Spencer black-edged mourning paper, traditionally used to observe a mourning period after the death of a family member.
(An image and transcript of the letter is available to download from the Resources section).
His Family
Michael’s son Simon became the Chairman of M&S in 1916, aged 28, and ran the company for almost 50 years. Simon transformed his father’s business from a chain of successful Penny Bazaar shops into an international retail company. Simon had his father’s sense of duty and responsibility to his employees and customers, establishing a ground-breaking employee welfare programme. Simon made sure that M&S was run with an ethos of doing the right thing, donating money and goods to charities, creating products that made life easier for customers and having a positive impact on society.
Of Michael’s daughters, the eldest, Rebecca, became the most well-known. Rebecca attended Manchester High School for Girls then studied English Literature in the Women’s section of the University of Manchester, which was among the first UK universities to make higher education available to women.
Throughout her life she was passionately interested in politics and world affairs. For example, she was involved in campaigning for fuller parliamentary representation of women through the ‘Women for Westminster’ organisation, which she actively sponsored, and also campaigned for equal compensation for civilian women injured during wartime bombing and equal rights in welfare assistance.
His Business
In 1884, Isaac Dewhirst loaned Michael Marks £5 with which he bought his first batch of stock to sell as a pedlar, equivalent to £520 in 2024.
When he went into partnership with Thomas Spencer in 1894, Michael’s capital in the new ‘Marks and Spencer’ company was £450, equivalent to £49,400 in 2024.
In 1903, when the business became a Limited Company, the value of the business was £30,000 - equivalent to £3.06million in 2024.
When Michael died in 1907, he left almost £30,000 in his will - equivalent to £3.03 million in 2024.
The business he founded is now a global retailer with over 70,000 colleagues serving nearly 30 million customers every year.
See supporting links (in Resources section) for external sources with current information about M&S.
Glossary
- Cortège - a funeral procession
- Obituary - a news article about the death of a person, usually with an account of the person's life and information about the funeral
- Mourning - sadness felt because someone has died, or the clothes and customs that express this sadness