David was born 5 March 1914 in St George in the East, London to Joseph, a tailor, and Diana nee Oife who were both born in Odessa, Ukraine and he had an older brother Israel and a younger sister Freda. David worked as a tailor’s presser before enlisting into the Pioneer Corps.

On Saturday 28 April 1942, David was a guard on an Army lorry which was transporting Italian prisoners of war when the vehicle was in collision with a tank transporter on Hampton Court Road, Surrey. An Italian Giuseppe Rosa, and David were both killed. The Coroner stated that they both died from shock and haemorrhage due to multiple injuries and recorded a verdict of accidental death.