An Ottoman subject, Moses Shemoeloff was born on December 24, 1905 in Jerusalem to Eliahu and Rebecca Shemoeloff (maiden name unknown), both Palestinians residing in the Bukharian Quarter in Jerusalem. Later in life, Moses was also associated with the names Maurice Sherwood, R. L. Shemoeloff, and the last name Zambardi. He may be related to Elie Shemoeloff, a Boukharian who established a partnership with David Mattatia Harounoff in Oriental carpets and rugs at 5 Victoria Avenue, London, trading under the name of E. Shemoeloff and Co. until 1916, when the business was transferred to 16/17 Devonshire Square. In 1919, the partnership was dissolved.
Moses attended school in Jerusalem until the age of sixteen, at which time he became an assistant to his father in a wholesale hosiery and haberdasher’s business, where he worked for more than seven years. Around 1921, he left Palestine with about £540 and traveled to England via France. After a short time, he opened an agency for the import of French silks, dress materials, and handbags, and for the export of British hosiery and other products to Palestine. He traded under his own name, first from 7 Hills Place, Oxford Circus, and later from Fulwood House, Fulwood Place. On August 31, 1926, the British government granted Moses Palestinian nationality. He came to Britain on January 8, 1929. Two months later, he relocated to France. He returned to England on August 22, 1930 and remained, with the exception of two-month trip to Paris on business, and two separate two-month trips to Palestine in 1933 and 1934, to visit his parents. On November 14, 1931, the Passport Office in London issued him a Palestinian passport, valid for five years.
On April 28, 1932, Moses Shemoeloff married Rose Louisa Zambardi, née Bailey, a natural-born British subject and widow of a natural-born British subject. There were no children of her previous marriage, nor did Moses and Rose Louisa, by 1937, have children.
In early 1935, due to unstable conditions on the Continent and in Palestine, he decided to discontinue the agency, resolving to re-open his connections abroad once the political situation in France and Palestine was “settled.” On February 15, 1935, Moses purchased the freehold of a business premises, where he resided and carried on business, for the sum of £1,000, having secured an advance of £800 from the National Safety Permanent Investment Building Society. Moses made monthly repayments of £5.6.8. He had an account with £150 at Barclays Bank Limited and he and his wife had another £418.1.4 on deposit with the Post Office Savings Bank.
On March 19, 1935, Moses and his wife took over from John Talbot Stephens these premises, where Stephens had operated a ladies’ hairdresser,” located on the ground floor of 97 St. Marks Road, Bush Hill Park, Middlesex. It had five, well-furnished cubicles. Moses purchased from Stephens the fixtures and fitting for £45, “there being practically no good-will,” perhaps an allusion that Stephens would not have been able to otherwise sell these components. Moses spent a further £200 on fitting up the saloon and cubicles. Rose Louise had previous experience in ladies’ hairdressing, while her husband had taken lessons to qualify. The couple operated the business as “Maurice, Ladies’ Hairdressers.” It was registered under his wife’s name. Moses employed one natural-born British subject who worked as an assistant for £2 weekly, plus 10 percent commission on takings. During busy periods, Moses hired an additional two assistances. From their opening date of March 19, 1935 until April 4, 1936, takings and sales amounted to £738.13.3 and the total outgoings (business costs) amounted to £430.13.11, leaving a net profit of £307.19.4.
As an alien, he was registered with the police. Neither he nor his wife applied for an exemption from the provisions of Section 7 of the Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act. His stated reason for applying for British naturalization was his intention to remain in Britain permanently. London’s Metropolitan Police and MI5 found nothing politically subversive in his history. In Britain, Moses sometimes used the name Maurice. His referees were a manager of Barclays Bank Limited, who first met Moses socially in November 1930, and met in social circles very occasionally; and an engineer who had met Moses four years earlier in a social context and exchanged frequent social visit with him. Moses applied at large, without the intermediary of an attorney or naturalization agent. He was naturalized in early 1937. This file was originally closed until 2057 and was declassified at my request on July 7, 2026.