​​Nathan registered as a Jew after the First Order against the Jews was passed in October 1940 and was later made to display a ‘Jewish Undertaking’ sign in the window of his fruit and vegetable shop. The outcome of the Second Order in November 1940 was that Nathan had to close his shop. 

​By 1943, Mr and Mrs Davidson had been notified of their imminent deportation and the strain became too much for Nathan. He was admitted to St Saviour’s Mental Institution on 25 February, where he died four days later. His cause of death was registered as ‘maniacal exhaustion and insanity’. He is buried in St Saviour’s churchyard.​