John Moores (merchant)

Sir John Moores
Statue of John and Cecil Moores
Born	(1896-01-25)25 January 1896 Barton-upon-Irwell, Lancashire, England
Died	25 September 1993(1993-09-25) (aged 97) Freshfield, Formby, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Businessman
Known for	Littlewoods, Everton F.C., Liverpool F.C.

Sir John Moores CBE (25 January 1896 – 25 September 1993) was an English businessman and philanthropist most famous for the founding of the now defunct Littlewoods retail company that was located in Liverpool, England.

John Moores was born into a working-class family in Barton-upon-Irwell, Lancashire on 25 January 1896. He was one of eight children and the eldest of four sons. He left elementary school in 1910, at the age of 14, and became a messenger boy at the Manchester Post Office but 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. He was in the Navy during the First World War, from 1917 onwards, as a wireless operator.

Moores' father, John William, was a bricklayer, then later became a site foreman but he developed a drink problem. He was off work in the last two years of his life with an injury sustained at work. He also developed tuberculosis and died on 9 February 1919 at the age of 47. John Moores Jnr was demobilised from the Navy two months later. He carried on working for the Commercial Cable Company. In 1920 he was posted to Liverpool where he stayed for a few months, but later that year, Moores was posted to Waterville in County Kerry, Ireland. He noticed there was no public library around for miles so he set up a store that sold books and stationery. He bulk imported books and called it the Waterville Supply Company. He also sold golf balls as there was no sports shop or golf course.

However, in 1922, Moores was back in England as the cable company reposted him again to Liverpool, where he would remain for the rest of his life.