Alfred was born in 1923 in Hendon to Hyman and Kate née Rosenfeldt. Alfred had three siblings, Joseph, Minnie and Hilda. Alfred worked for De Havilland aircraft as a draughtsman before he enlisted on 11 August 1941.

Alfred’s uncle, Harold Simmonds was a wireless operator attached to RAF Bournemouth and was killed on 23 May 1943. The crew had returned from an operation and were billeted at the Hotel Metropole in Bournemouth. They were all killed when an enemy bomb when the hotel suffered a direct hit. Simmonds, Harold | The Jews of the RAF

Alfred was the flight engineer on Lancaster ED592 which departed from RAF Skellingthorpe on a night operation to Berlin. The aircraft was shot down by night fighter pilot Oblt Horst Pause of the 1./NJG 1.

All the crew were killed.
Pilot F/O. F.E. Townsend, 141412
Flight engineer Sgt. A. Sandow
Navigator Sgt. H. Wood, 1338068
B/A Sgt. W.C. Yetton, 1322153
W/Op A/G, Sgt. D.G. Hobbs, 648328
A/G Sgt. P.J. Rose, 1541546
A/G Sgt. W.A. Dawe, 1389130