David Newton Bungey (1911–1980) was born in New Barnet, the younger son of the writer Edgar Newton Bungey. After the war he worked for Essex Education Committee, and as the Essex Chronicle reported on the occasion of his marriage to Barbara Gannon at All Saints’ Church, Writtle, in June 1950, was already ‘well-known in Essex education circles’. Barbara was the daughter of the organist at the church where they were wed, and like David was also a keen musician; she a violin player who had trained at the Royal College of Music and he a flautist. Bungey became Chief Education Officer for Essex Education Committee, reporting on the activities of that body in Education in Essex: Report of Essex Education Committee for the years 1964–1973 (Chelmsford, 1974). During his period of office, the University of Essex was established at Wivenhoe Park near Colchester. In 1967 Bungey had made a recommendation that whenever the United Kingdom joined the Common Market, Essex should set up a school similar to those in the countries of the European Economic Community. This led to the establishment in 1973 of the Anglo-European School, Willow Green, Ingatestone, Essex.

Bungey had met George Adamson while training in the RAF during the war. Both men were on the Number One Course, B.C.F.T.S. at Dallas Aviation School, Inc., Love Field, Dallas, Texas, from June 2nd to July 22nd, 1941, being in the first batch of fifty men from Great Britain to receive special flying instruction at civilian training schools in the United States. Bungey and Adamson pooled their creative talents first of all in their illustrated article on their impressions of the United States published in November 1941 in the Toronto newspaper Star Weekly, and later in the illustrated entry in the Radio Times for a short story written by Bungey that was about to be broadcast on Children’s Hour. Bungey, no doubt with Adamson’s gentle persuasion, also made war-time contributions to Punch.