Bernard was born on 15 November 1909 in Paddington, London to Samuel and Canadian born mother Minnie nee Stockman. Minnie was previously married to German Gustave Schreiner and they had a son Albert born in 1893. Minnie divorced Gustave in 1903 and married Samuel in 1904. Their only child Bernard was born in 1909. Samuel who worked as a railway clerk died in hospital in Weston super Mare in 1934 from acute peritonitis. In 1939, Bernard and his mother were living in St Stephen’s Gardens, Paddington and he was listed as an electrical engineer and Minnie was a volunteer in the voluntary aid detachment.

Bernard was a junior engineer officer on the M.V. Gisborne which was travelling from Auckland to Cardiff via Halifax and Belfast carrying a cargo of refrigerated and general cargo, including 2479 bales of wool and 20 bales of sheepskin. At 22.09 hours on 11 Oct 1940 the ship was in convoy HX-77 and was hit near the bridge by one torpedo from U-48 about 113 miles west-southwest of Rockall. The crew abandoned ship in three lifeboats, but one of them capsized in gale force conditions and the occupants drowned. The abandoned wreck sank later with 26 crew members lost. The master, 36 crew members and one gunner were rescued.