David was born on 16 March 1908 to Russian born Hyman and Esther née Rosengard and had two sisters Minnie and Ida. Their father worked as a bookmaker in Hendon. David married Freda Wienke in 1937 in Hendon and he worked as a furniture manufacturer representative in Birmingham.

David was the flight engineer on Lancaster ND868 which departed RAF Metheringham on a night operation to bomb the Dortmund-Ems Canal. The aircraft crashed near the town of Ibbenburen in Westphalia killing seven members of the crew with one survivor.

Nav, Gerald George Bryan, RCAF, J/29589.
A/G, John Frederick William Clarke, RCAF, R/192643.
Pilot, James Isaac, 183398.
W/Op, Richard Henry Julian, 1581666.
A/G, Kenneth Alexander McLaughlin, RCAF, J/89163.
A/B, Henry Ian Shepherd, RCAF, J/89184.

2nd Pilot, Sidney Henry Jones, 117959, survived. POW Stalag 9C and Luft III.