Rakusen, Manassah Nat

Plot Location2H12
SurnameRakusen
Given Name(s)Manassah Nat
Place of BirthLeeds, UK
Date of Birth (Eng)March 26, 1902
Date of Birth (Heb)17 Adar II 5662
Date of Death (Eng)December 2, 1966
Date of Death (Heb)19 Kislev 5727
Age at Death64
Hebrew Nameמנשה נתן ב”ר חיים
Spouse’s NameJulia Maria Gardner
Father’s NameHyman Rakusen (Rakuzhin)
Mother’s NameToby Klein
Other Surnames 
SexM
Marital StatusM
Maiden Name 
Title (e.g., Dr) 
Religious Status (כ/ל/י) 
Cause of Death 
Other Family DataSon: Ron Rakusen (b. 1940, HK). Siblings: Moses (b. 1895), Besy (b. 1898), Yetty (b. 1900), Rosy (b. 1904)
Inscription (Eng)TO THE BELOVED MEMORY OF
MANASSAH NAT RAKUSEN
BORN 26TH MARCH 1902
DIED 2ND DECEMBER 1966
AGED 64 YEARS
DEEPLY LOVED – SO SADLY MISSED
Inscription (Heb)פ’נ’ ר’ מנשה נתן ב”ר חיים רקוסען נולד י”ז אדר ב’ תרס”ב נפטר י”ט כסלו תשכ”ז לפייק בן ס”ד שנים ת’נ’צ’ב’ה
Inscription (Other)“269” on front face of base
HistoricalFrom 1932 – 1937, he worked for Sennet Frères, which was owned by Albert (4B7) & Rosie Weill (4B4). He then worked for Philco Radio Distributors as a manager. During the war, he was a S/Sgt in the HKVDC Pay Corps and was initially interned in the Sham Shui Po POW camp. On April 29, 1944, he was transferred to the Sendai No. 2 Camp in Japan, where he worked in a coal mine until the war ended. After the war, he returned to HK and was reunited with Julia and Ron, who had been in Shanghai since mid-1942. He was awarded an MBE for his valiant efforts both during and after the war, and was a Major in the RHKVDC when he retired.

He was a champion billiards player and also won the Hong Kong Singles Lawn Bowls Championship on the day Ron was born in 1940.

Julia’s family was in HK and Macau for generations. Her grandfather, Anis (William/ Wilhelm) Gahar (Gardner), died in 1875 and is buried in HK Cemetery. It is believed that her grandmother, Cecília Libânia De Jesus Correa, was born in Macau in 1840. Julia died in London on August 5, 1981 and is buried there.

Nat’s uncle, Lloyd Rakusen, owned and operated Rakusen’s, the famous matzoh company. His father worked for the company. Another relative, Charles Percival Rakusen, lived in Shanghai for many years where he was an eminent ophthalmologist. He died there in 1958.

Ron now lives in France.

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