Joseph was born on 25 December 1919 to Abraham Goldstein, a tailor, and Annie nee Cohen. Abraham’s first wife died in 1914 with whom he had four children and he remarried to Joseph’s mother Annie in 1918. In 1921, the family lived in Whitechapel and Abraham worked as a tailor. In 1939, the Register states that the family were living in Hackney, London and Joseph was a shopfitter stock keeper.

Joseph enlisted early in the war and changed his surname from Goldstein to Gee. He was killed in action.