Joseph Harris obtained a BSc (anatomy honours) in London in 1958, qualified with the Conjoint Diploma in 1961 and the FRCS in 1970. He studied at University College and University College Hospital, London, and there became lecturer in surgery and honorary surgical registrar. He had also worked as registrar and research assistant in the surgical unit at Cardiff. A member of the Gastroenterological and Surgical Research Society, he contributed several articles on the absorption and secretion of water and electrolytes in the colon. He died in May 1975.