Joseph Brooks with his Merchant Navy kit bag.
Joseph Brooks was born on 28th May 1925 in the Stepney, the East End of London. His mother Katie died when he was six years old and his father Mordechai/Alfred – unable to cope with bringing up a young child alone – sent him to West Norwood Jewish Orphanage where Joseph became a talented schoolboy boxer. At the age of 12 he returned home and spent two years at the Jewish Free Secondary School.
He joined the Merchant Navy in 1940 and served as a deck boy on the Norwegian ship SS Skum/Skurn, where he was taught to fire the 4” gun and learned to steer. He became a gunner and continued to serve in the Merchant Navy until the end of the war when he returned to the UK,.
Joseph volunteered to fight for Israel in the War of Independence, arriving on the Altalena, His most traumatic experience was the discovery of the mutilated body of his friend and fellow Altalena veteran Nat Cashman on a hill outside Jerusalem. He later helped to train the fledgling Israeli Navy, serving on the INS K18.
On his return to the UK, Joseph worked in the rag trade. Joseph passed away in September 2007.
Note: Joe’s story is featured in Martin Sugarman’s book entitled “Jews in the Merchant Navy in the Second World War. Publisher: Vallentine Mitchell. www.vmbooks.com
Source: Martin Sugarman’s book (see above) and Matthew Bannister interview (BBC).