Joseph was born in 1881 at Winsford, Cheshire, the son of George Minshall and Martha Alice Steen. He had an older brother, Alfred, and three younger sisters, Elizabeth, Florence and Frances. Alfred emigrated to the USA in 1907.
In 1901 Joseph was living at the family home in Northwich where his father George was a blacksmith, and Joseph a watch and clock maker. The 1911 Census records Joseph in lodgings in Sheffield.
The National Registration Act of July 1915 required men aged between of 15 and 65 and not already in the military to register, giving details of their employment. Subsequent to this, Lord Derby, Director-General of Recruiting, brought forward the Group Scheme (often called the Derby Scheme) of recruitment in October 1915.
Under the Group Scheme, men aged 18 to 40 were informed that they could continue to enlist voluntarily or attest with an obligation to come if called up later on. The War Office notified the public that voluntary enlistment would soon cease and that the last day of registration would be 15 December 1915.
