Eric was born on 20 June 1913 in Wandsworth, London to Poland born parents Adolph, a watch and clock repairer, and Matilda nee Charap and he had two brothers William and Nathaniel and a sister Eva. Their mother Matilda died in 1922 and Adolph remarried to Jessie Million, a widow with three young children, in 1923. Unfortunately, this marriage did not last and they separated in 1930.

In the 1939 Register, Eric is living with his father and sister Eva in Lewisham, south-east London and he is working as a men’s hairdresser. In April 1940 he married Julia Nykerk.

In 1941, he was based in Scotland when he became ill and was sent to the Base Hospital in Larbert, Falkirk. His death certificate states his cause of death was: Acute Mania for 18 days and Acute Toxic Myocarditis for 7 days.