Emanuel was born on 18 February 1917 in Marylebone, London to Charles Wallen (Walinski) and Lydia née Mortimer. Emanuel was the eldest of six children and their mother died at the early age of thirty nine in 1936. Emanuel married Margaret Lawless in 1939 in Islington and they lived with his widowed father at 8 Alvington Crescent in Hackney. Emanuel worked as a tailors presser before he enlisted.

Emanuel was the wireless operator/air gunner on Stirling BK764 which departed RAF Mildenhall on a night operation to raid Monchengladbach-Rheydt, Germany (660 aircraft took part in the raid, 32 were lost). The Stirling was brought down about 20km SW of the target area, crashing near Wassenburg. Seven of the eight crew died. 

Pilot, Jack Bradford, killed
Nav, Ralph Stanley France, killed
Pilot, Roderick Walter Gray, killed
Nav, Thomas Jeffery Leadley, killed
A/G, George Patrick Read, killed
F/E, John Ivor Winchurch, killed
Sgt J Richmond, POW Stalag 4B