Joel Nathan Strauss

Major, Royal Army Medical Corps
Service number: 75460
Died 21 Jun 1943
Buried Yaba Cemetery, Nigeria
Age 33


Joel was born on 25 October 1909 in Manchester, Lancashire to Latvian father Jacob and Polish mother Fanny nee Roland and he had a younger sister Zelia. Jacob worked as a tin metal worker eventually owning a family run petrol station.

Joel graduated from Manchester University and held the degrees and diplomas of M.B., Ch.B., M.R.C.P. and D.T.M. and he was awarded a Junior Fellowship by the Medical Research Council for Tropical Medical Research.

Joel met his wife Sybil Bowyer, who was a nursing sister, whilst working at Southend Municipal Hospital in Essex as a doctor and they married in Manchester in April 1942. Joel, although in a reserved occupation, enlisted into the Royal Army Medical Corps. He served in Crete and North Africa and was then sent to West Africa where he died from illness. Sadly, Sybil died only six months after Joel in December 1943.

The CWGC sent a letter to his wife after the war asking for details for Joel’s headstone but did not receive a reply as Sybil herself had passed way, so a Cross was added to his headstone by default. Our evidence has been sent to CWGC to prove that he was Jewish and his headstone will now be changed adding a Star of David.

Joel & Sybil