Raphael was born on 3 May 1914 in Mile End, London to Polish born Jack and Polly Cinnamon and had three brothers, Woolf, Louis and Morris. Jack and Polly married in 1910 in St George in the East, London and the following year they were living with Polly’s family and Jack worked as a cigarette maker.

Ralph married Gertie Naseloff on 5 July 1936 in the East London Synagogue in Mile End. In 1939 they were living in St Pancras where Ralph was working as a chef and Gertie was a milliner. In 1940 Raphael enlisted in to the RAF.

Ralph was an observer on Beaufort N1044. The aircraft crashed into high ground when descending through cloud at Exford, Devon, at 22.07 hours on 1st December 1941. Three of the crew were killed instantly and critically injured Sgt Robert Smart died from his injuries two days later.

Pilot Officer Reginald William Hopkins (RAAF), Gerald Boyle, Sergeant Robert Smart.