The yeshiva was founded in about 1900 in London's
East End, where it occupied a campus on Thrawl Street;
Rabbi Aharon Hyman was one of the founders. Rabbi
Joseph Green was the first
Rosh Yeshiva, and Rabbi
Moshe Yitzchak Segal, later Rosh Yeshiva in Manchester, served as
mashgiach ruchani. During
World War I, Rabbi
Abraham Isaac Kook was associated with the Yeshiva during
his stay in London. Rabbi
Nachman Shlomo Greenspan succeeded Green as rosh yeshiva from 1918 to 1961. Rabbi
Elyah Lopian was
mashgiach ruchani from 1926 - 1950. Rabbi
Leib Gurwicz, the latter's son in law and future Rosh Yeshiva at
Gateshead, taught in the Yeshiva in the 1940s. Rabbi Hirsch Neumann taught in the yeshiva in the 1920s Greenspan was succeeded by Rabbi
Noson Ordman (1906-1996). Born in
Tavrik, Lithuania, Rabbi Ordman was a 14 year alumnus of
Telz Yeshiva; he came to London in 1936, and headed
Etz Chaim for more than 50 years. From 1976 through the early 1980's Rabbi
Aharon Pfeuffer led the Yeshiva alongside Rabbi Ordman. In the 1960s the yeshiva had experienced a decline, with students drawn to Israeli and American yeshivas. Its regular
minyan (congregation) is today associated with the
Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations. Rabbi Rabi headed the institution until his passing in 2020. == Notable alumni ==