Aubrey was born in 1924 in Hendon, London to Jack (Jeff), a furrier, and Goldie nee Mann and he had two sisters Joyce and Daphne.

At the age of sixteen Aubrey ran off to join the Merchant Navy and was at the evacuation at Dunkirk in June 1940. He then underwent official training and on 15 May 1942 he joined the ship King Edgar at Cardiff serving as a 3rd Radio Officer. The ship is listed as travelling from Capetown to New York. He then worked on various ships including the Blackheath and Alcantara travelling to the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Indian oceans. In January 1945 he was discharged ill onto the S.S. British Sovereign. Whilst the ship was in Abadan his conditioned worsened and he died on 7 July 1945 from acute bulbar palsy in hospital in Abadan, Iran.

AJEX archivist Martin Sugarman has written about Aubrey in his book ‘Jews in the Merchant Navy in the Second World War’. For 60 years Aubrey’s death on active service was not recognised by the CWGC. Martin took up the matter and researched the story and was able to prove his death officially for recognition purposes, and claim his medals for his sister Joyce. Aubrey’s grave was eventually located and an article was in the Jewish Chronicle in 2007.