Harold was born in 1923 in Stoke Newington, London to Russian born parents Samuel and Golda nee Blackman and had three brothers, Aubrey, Sydney and Monty. In 1939, the family were living at 76 Queens Drive, Stoke Newington. Harold’s father Samuel is listed as a wine importer.

Harold was the navigator on Wellington HZ727 that was engaged on a close area anti-submarine patrol over the convoy ‘Parcel’. At 20.40 it was plotted in position 32.56N, 20.16E but no further news was heard from the aircraft. Extensive searches were carried out the next day with no success. There were circumstantial reports that there may have been a collision between Wellingtons HZ727 and MF679 and they fell into the sea on fire.

The crew were:
Pilot, Kenneth Robert Munro, RCAF, J/14014
2nd Pilot, Ivan Coles, 1436513
Nav, Harold Cherns
W/Op, A/G, Ronald Frederick Ledger, 1330314
W/Op, A/G, John Harris, 1313481
W/Op, A/G, Kenneth Allan Wright, 1334532