John Moores

John Moores was born at the Church Inn, Eccles, Lancashire, on Saturday, 25 January, 1896. He was the second of eight children and the eldest of four sons born to bricklayer John William Moores (17 September 1871 – 9 February 1919) and Louisa Moores (née Fethney) (9 March 1873 – 13 December 1959). John came from a line of bricklayers, his great-grandfather Sidney Moores was one (1818–1884), as was his grandfather John Moores (1847–1910), though he eventually set up a small building contractors business, and was landlord of the Church Inn where the future owner of Littlewoods was born.

John William Moores later became a site foreman. He was a hard worker but developed a drink problem. In 1918 he developed tuberculosis and died of the illness in 1919 aged 47.

At the age of 12, John got his first job, helping with a milk round before school started. He left elementary school in 1909, at the age of 13. John became a messenger boy at the Manchester Post Office, but was sacked for talking back to his superior. Shortly afterwards however, he was soon accepted in a course at the Post Office School of Telegraphy. This enabled him, in 1912 to join the Commercial Cable Company as a junior operator. Moores was in a reserved occupation and did not have to be called up for military service but he volunteered for the Navy in 1917, as a wireless operator. He was posted to a shore station in Aberdeen where he remained until April 1919.

Moores married Ruby Knowles (27 October 1894 – 8 September 1965) in Liverpool on 19 September 1923. They had four children:

Elizabeth, Lady Grantchester (8 June 1925 – 2 February 2019) who married on 12 April 1947 Kenneth Bent Suenson-Taylor, 2nd Baron Grantchester (18 August 1921 – 12 August 1995), and had issue including the present Lord Grantchester.

John Moores Jr., CBE (22 November 1928 – 22 May 2012),

Peter Moores, CBE (9 April 1932 – 23 March 2016) and

Janitha Moores later Stubbs (b. 4 July 1937).

Between 1933 and August 1940 Moores was a Conservative councillor for the Sefton parish for Sefton Rural District and West Lancashire Rural District. In September 1933 he stood as a National Government candidate for Clay Cross and at the November 1935 General Election in Nuneaton but failed to be elected both times. Moores was critical of socialism, but in November 1935 he called for coal miners to be paid more money and for them to have better working conditions. Despite his Conservative views, he was a friend of the Labour MP Bessie Braddock and the two worked together on several projects involving Liverpool.