Sub Lieutenant Hermann Hirsch Becker DFC was born in Stavanger, Norway, on 30 July 1920. He was the son of Jewish immigrants from Russia; his father Hille Becker (born in 1885 in Smolensk), a watchmaker, and Judith née Zemechman (born in 1888 in St. Petersburg).

Norway was occupied by Germany in 1940. In 1941, Hermann escaped to the Orkneys and subsequently went to Canada where he joined the Norwegian Armed Forces. After washing out from pilot training he qualified as Navigator and served on Catalinas in RNAF 333 Sqn, based in Scotland.

He flew 18 operational sorties before becoming attached to Bomber Command's RAAF 464 Sqn in June, 1944, flying Mosquitoes.

In 1942 and 1943, Hermann's parents and siblings in Norway were deported and murdered in Auschwitz. Hermann learnt about this in 1944 and volunteered for dangerous missions. In January, 1945, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Norwegian War Medal.

Hermann and his pilot, F/O John Herbert Palmer RAAF, were shot down by anti-aircraft fire after a raid on the Gestapo Headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 March 1945.

F/O Palmer has no known grave. Hermann's body washed ashore and he was buried as an Unknown Airman at Tranebjerg Churchyard in the island of Samsø, Denmark.

Research by the CWGC's Honorary Representative in Denmark, Bob Cobley MBE, and his team, uncovered Hermann's identity in 2000. This was subsequently accepted by the Norwegian War Graves Service, leading to the rededication of his grave, which was subsequently marked with the Star of David.

In 2024, the 74th Class of the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy was named in Hermann's honour. Hermann's biography was written by the historian Frode Sæland and published in 2008, and a square in his hometown of Stavanger has been named in his honour.