Marcus Joseph Sieff, Baron Sieff of Brimpton OBE (2 July 1913 – 23 February 2001) was a British businessman and chairman of his family company, the retailer

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

, from 1972 to 1982. He was also a leading figure in UK

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

. Sieff was born in Didsbury,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, the second son of

Israel Sieff Israel Moses Sieff, Baron Sieff (4 May 1889 – 14 February 1972) was an English businessman and Zionist who was chairman of the British retailer Marks & Spencer from 1964 to 1967. Early life and education He was born in Manchester, the son of ...

.Sieff, Marcus Joseph
farlex He was educated at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...

, St Paul's and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Starting work for the family company in Hammersmith,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1935, Sieff first visited

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

in 1939. He joined the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and received an OBE in 1944 for gallant service. Exiting the British Army with the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

, he returned to Marks & Spencer, but was asked in 1948 by the first

Prime Minister of Israel The prime minister of Israel ( he, רֹאשׁ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה, Rosh HaMemshala, Head of the Government, Hebrew acronym: he2, רה״מ; ar, رئيس الحكومة, ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief exec ...

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the nam ...

, to become an adviser on transportation and supplies to the Israeli Defence ministry. Sieff joined the Israel Defense Forces and helped co-ordinate Marks & Spencer goods and finances to support the new state. Sieff was knighted in 1971 and was created a life peer on 14 February 1980 as Baron Sieff of Brimpton, of Brimpton in the Royal County of Berkshire. Married four times, Sieff's fourth wife was a Polish widow, Lily Moretzki (née Spatz), whom he married in London in 1963. She ran most of his charitable associations and then nursed him during his final years. One of his sons Sir David Sieff was served on the board of Marks & Spencers for many years.

Arms

References

1913 births 2001 deaths Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War II British businesspeople in retailing Conservative Party (UK) life peers English Jews English people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Israeli soldiers Knights Bachelor Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Manchester Grammar School People from Didsbury Royal Artillery officers The Independent people Marcus Sons of life peers Jewish British politicians People from West Berkshire District 20th-century English businesspeople Sieff {{Life-peer-stub