Yosek Befeler
Aircraftman 1st Class, 971 Balloon Squadron
Service number 775173
Died 10 May 1942
Buried Alexandria (Hadra) War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt
Age 22
Headstone Inscription
‘PALESTINIAN’
Yosek (Joseph) was born on 21 September 1919 in Lublin, Poland to Elijah and Malkah nee Piekash who immigrated to Ra’anana, Israel from Poland in 1930. He graduated from the elementary school in Ra’anana and upon completion he moved to Yeshiva in Jerusalem. After a period of study at Yeshiva he returned to Ra’anana and worked in the meat industry.
Joseph was a ‘local enlistment’ in Palestine and joined the RAF in 1940. Most of his service was in Egypt, and he belonged to a squadron that ballooned the skies of Cairo in defense of the city from enemy air strikes. From Cairo he was transferred to serve in Alexandria. On May 10, 1942, the enemy bombed the camp where he served. A Flight HQ received a direct hit and Joseph was killed. His body was found under the rubble.