HO 144/18637 and HO 334/226/265
David Mattatia Harounoff was born around 1882 to Mattatia Harounoff and Malka Harounoff, née Cohen, who were both deceased by 1933. He was a Boukharan subject and carried a passport issued in Boukhara in 1910. He married Devorah (a.k.a. Debora) Cohen, a Boukharan, around 1908, in Persia.[1] The couple had four children: Mattatia Harounoff (b. April 17, 1910 in Jerusalem); Elie (a.k.a. Eliahou, b. February 15, 1920 in Jerusalem); Lucy Leah (b. February 2, 1924 in London); Abraham (b. June 2, 1931 in London).[2] He arrived in England in 1913 and remained ever since except for visits to Egypt (March 1919) and Palestine (August 1920) to see his wife, and short business visits to France and Belgium in 1921 and 1922. Their physical separation may explain the ten year gap between their first and second children.
Their son Elie (or Eliahou), who was naturalized with David Mattatia on the same certificate, lived with his parents and attended the Vartry Road School, N. 15, which was under the control of the Tottenham Education Committee. Previously, Elie had attended the Stoke Newington Oldfield Road L.C.C. School. A report from that school, dated March 1932, showed that his conduct was good.
David Mattatia established a partnership with Elie Shemoeloff, a fellow Boukharan, as dealers in oriental carpets and rugs at 5 Victoria Avenue in London. They traded as E. Shemoeloff and Company from 1913 to 1916 and the business was of good repute. It was then transferred to 16/17 Devonshire Square. In 1919, the partnership was dissolved and David Mattatia went on a visit to Egypt. Upon his return in August 1920, he recommenced business in the carpet trade at 16/17 Devonshire Square, trading under his own name until May 15, 1923. He then went into partnership with his cousin Joseph Nissan Harounoff, trading as “D. M. Harounoff and Co., Importers and Exporters of Oriental Carpets and Rugs” at 6 New Street, Bishopsgate. On 1/2/1928, “D. M. Harounoff and Co.” was changed to “Harounoff and Company.” In January 1928, The Home Office fully dealt with this business in the report on the application for naturalization by Joseph Nissan Harounoff, who was naturalized in 1933. That year, the firm Harounoff and Company had half a share in the profits of Harounoff and Alizade, fur and skin merchants, located at 21 Queenhithe in London. The latter business was commenced on April 3, 1933 and was conducted by Abdol Alizade, a Persian subject who was duly registered with London police. A sum of £600 had been put into the concern and it was the intention to soon increase this amount to £1,000. The business was making satisfactory progress.
The balance sheets David Mattatia submitted for the years 1929 through 1931, inclusive, showed that his shares of the profits were £532.0.0, £265.10.0, and £438.3.2, respectively.
Both David Mattatia and his wife were registered as aliens with London police. He had been in England for nineteen years and had “an adequate knowledge of the English language” when he applied for naturalization in 1933. His reason for doing so was his desire to obtain the rights and capacities of a natural-born British subject, as he had long been established in business in England and desired to remain permanently. David Mattatia originally had three referees: W. K. Calwell of 69 Holland Park Avenue, Notting Hill, who knew David Mattatia for six years, Herbert Hill of 37 Curzon Street, Mayfair, who knew him for eleven years. The third was Gilbert R. Comfort, manager of Barclays Bank Limited, who indicated that the police usually came to his home “about these matters,” suggesting that in his capacity as a bank manager, he frequently served as a referee for foreigners seeking naturalization. However, since the three had only a business knowledge of him, the Home Office required him to obtain new ones. These were Aaron Nunes Vaz, a Jewish minister of religion, residing at 39 Mildmay Park; Edward Porter, secretary of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews’ Board of Guardians, residing at 1 Highfield Gardens, Golders Green; and Pinckus Sydney, a carpet buyer, employed by Mr. Nehorai at 3/4 New Street, Bishopsgate and residing at 50 Fairholt Road, Stoke Newington, N.16. Aaron Nunes Vaz and Edward Porter first met David Mattatia as fellow worshippers at the same synagogue and afterwards became close friends, exchanging social visits frequently. Pinckus Sydney first met David Mattatia through business. They were on very friendly terms and had exchanged social visits from time to time. Additional referees were G. Regmaed Compt, who knew him for six years, and another person who knew him for nine years and signed illegibly. The Metropolitan Police, City Police, and MI5 show nothing to David Mattatia detriment, including political extremist associations.
David Mattatia resided consecutively in Shepherds Bush (1927-1930), Stoke Newington (1930-1933), and Stamford Hill. At the latter address, he paid a weekly rent of £1.15.0.
Subfiles 1 and 2 were destroyed. David applied for the eighth time on April 24, 1933. This file was originally closed until 2034 and declassified at my request.
[1] The Emirate of Bukhara was an Uzbek absolute Islamic monarchy in Central Asia (1785-1920). It occupied the historic region of Transoxiana (the land between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers) encompassing territory that makes up modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and parts of Kazakhstan. Bukhara was a Russian Protectorate from 1868-1920, but Russia intentionally left the internal legal system intact. People born within the Emirate’s borders were subjects of the Emir of Bukhara, not subjects of the Russian Tsar. They paid taxes to the Emir and were judged by Islamic Sharia courts under the Emir’s administration.
[2] Mattatia’s naturalization file is not preserved. Harounoff submitted to the Home Office only the birth certificates of his London-born children. Harounoff’s second child was naturalized together with him on his certificate.