David Anderson Craine was born at Peel, Isle of Man on 25 June 1913. His father, also David, was skipper of the Peel herring drifter Manx Lad, then at Maryport.
He first went to sea as a deck boy in SS Knight Companion in 1930. His card next records SS Salvador in 1937 and 1938, and he signed on in Deptford as radio officer on 16 August 1939.
David Anderson Craine was killed as a result of enemy action, by reason of a torpedo attack carried out on SS Deptford from U-38. He was 26.