Service No: 1457299 Royal Engineers 54 Field Company
Alfred Charles Milner was born on 28th October1917, the eldest child of Charles Harold Milner and his wife Ethel Maud née Perry of St Margaret’s Road, Ward End. As a child and young man Alfred was unwell and spent a significant amount of time in a sanatorium. At the outbreak of war he was considered unfit for service. By 1943 however, things had changed and Alfred was called up. By 1939 he’d recovered sufficiently to be working as a Solderer of Electric Heaters and was living with his family in St Joseph’s Road, Birmingham.
In the third quarter of 1943, just before embarking for war, Alfred married Martha Betty Collins, known as Betty, from New Street, Castle Bromwich. He was then almost immediately dispatched to Burma where he served with the Royal Engineers.
Having a weak constitution from years of illness, Alfred soon fell victim to the tropical diseases rampant in the area. He died on 6th August 1944 from Typhoid. He is buried in the Taukkyan War Cemetery.
Inscription : Lovingly remembered by wife Betty, Mom, Dad and Families. “Thy Will Be Done”
In 1947 Alfred’s widow Betty married Bennie Fainstein and the couple went on to raise a son and a daughter.
