HO 334/157/15585

            Leon Luiz Aelion was born in Rustchuck, Bulgaria on February 16, 1907 to Saltie (Saltiel) and Estrea Aelion, both Spanish subjects, as was he.[1] In 1913, he relocated with his parents from Rustchuck to Salonica. In 1923, the family moved to Paris, where they remained until immigrating to the United Kingdom on March 29, 1936. Leon Luiz, by that time a carpet merchant, lived with his parents at 9 Priory Court, N.W.6. His father Saltie had previously retired and in the same month of their immigration, the Home Office gave them permission to remain in the U.K. indefinitely.

Leon Luiz received British naturalization in February of 1940, along with his wife Lilian, at which time they lived at 23 Barn Way, Wembley. Estrea owned property in Greece and lived on income derived from it until the Germans occupied Greece. From that point on, Estrea and Saltie lived on their capital, with some assistance from their son, until Saltie died on July 1, 1947. Since that time, Leon Luiz supported his mother Estrea. By the time Estrea applied for naturalization in 1950, she and her son Leon Luiz lived at Beechcroft, Manor House Drive, Brondesbury Park, London, N.W.6. Estrea’s English was “adequate” and her son Leon Luiz assisted her in completing her naturalization application.

            For Leon Luiz’s mother, see Estrea Aelion.

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[1] Aelion’s stated birthplace may have been tactical, to avoid conscription into the Ottoman military. His daughter reports that he was born in Salonika and that they applied for Spanish citizenship while in Paris in the 1930s, perhaps in anticipation of Nazi persecution. Andrée Aelion Brooks to Aviva Ben-Ur, August 4, 2024.