Joel Gabe was educated at King's College, London, and the Westminster Hospital and qualified with the Conjoint Diploma in 1925 and graduated MB BS in 1927, gaining the Fellowship in 1931. After junior posts at St Paul's Hospital and at the Royal Northern Hospital, he specialized in urology and was consultant urological surgeon to the Greenwich and Deptford and to the Woolwich and Lewisham Groups for many years until his retirement at the end of 1969, whereupon he became honorary consultant urological surgeon to the same groups. His death was reported to the College by the General Medical Council on 8 December 1989.