HO 144/14661 and HO 334/127

           Leon Abadjian was born in Sezaree (a.k.a. Caesarea Mazaca or Kayseri, in central Anatolia) on August 14, 1892 to Parsegh and Marianie Abadjian (née Aghadjanian), both “Ottoman (Armenian)” and both deceased by the time of his application in 1930. At the age of 18, he began a two-year stint as an apprentice in the carpet business (1910-1912). He then relocated to Smyrna and assisted in a business of importation and exportation of carpets until 1920. Leon spent World War I in Smyrna and did not perform military service for Ottoman forces.

           Leon immigrated to England in 1920. Soon after, he formed a partnership with another Armenian named N. Gulesserian and traded in Oriental carpets in London until the end of 1922, when the partnership was dissolved amicably and without debt. The following year, Leon entered into a partnership with other members of the Abadjian family and M. Saghirian, forming Saghirian & Abadjian, importers and chemical washers of Oriental carpets and rugs. He worked there as a chemical carpet washer. Leon was financially sound, with a residence in northwest London and an office in central London.  

           In 1927, he forged a partnership with Mihran Saghirian and Krikor Abadjian, both aliens registered with police. This partnership built upon a previous deed of partnership (Saghirian & Abadjian, 1923-1927). Upon its renewal in 1927, Aram Abadjian, another family member who was also an alien, was added. The firm employed 17 persons, all British. Leon was financially sound, receiving 32% of the profits. He undertook two business/pleasure trips to Paris in 1924 and 1928, and another to Athens in 1927.

           On April 28, 1928, Leon married Haigouhi Eodemishlian, an Ottoman Armenian, in a civil ceremony, followed by an Armenian ceremony at the St. Sarkis Church in London. Haighouhi was registered with police and had received a “conditional landing” at Dover in March 1928, the restrictions of which were cancelled by the Home Office that summer.

           Leon, who was registered as an alien with police, was 39 when he first applied for naturalization in 1930, after over a decade in England. He self-identified as an Ottoman (Armenian) and submitted a declaration from the Senior Minister of the Armenian Church of Saint Sarkis, stating that he was a member of the Armenian community “which was opposed to the governments at war with His Majesty King George V.” Leon possessed a certificate of identity issued by the French High Commission in Smyrna in 1920, which was visaed by the Interallied Passport Control (British Section) in Smyrna later that same year. He desired “to remain permanently “ in England and had “no intention of returning to Armenia,” as all “his interests and sentiments” were “entirely British.”

           Leon’s referees were chartered accountant Herbert Edward Hill, who would also serve as referee for both Hrant and Aram Abadjian, medical practitioner Frederick Reginald Sturridge, who would serve as referee for Aram Abadian, haulage contractor William Arthur Stanley, and newsagent William Stechfield. Leon was naturalized in 1931.

           This file was originally closed until 2032. It was declassified at my request on February 20, 2014.