HARDER, Alfred John
| Service Number: | 449968 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 May 1944 |
| Last Rank: | Leading Aircraftman |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Corburg, Victoria, Australia, 30 March 1926 |
| Home Town: | Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Coburg State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Fitter |
| Died: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 13 November 2015, aged 89 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Fawkner Memorial Park Cemetery, Victoria |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 19 May 1944: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Leading Aircraftman, 449968 | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Feb 1946: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Leading Aircraftman, 449968 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Leading Aircraftman Alfred John Harder (Service No:449968) served as a Cadet with the Air Training Corps (14 and 21 Squadrons) before enlisting in the RAAF as an Aircraftman I on 19 May 1944 - mustered as Trainee Technical, re mustered as Instrument Repairer. Promoted to LAC on 26 August 1945, he was attached to 2 Operational Training Unit (OTU) Mildura at Discharge on 13 February 1946.
Alf was born in Melbourne, Victoria in 1926, second child of Samuel (Sam) William Harder (b1895 in Murroon, Victoria) and Phyllis May Brown (b1901 in Wickham, NSW). Sam enlisted in the AIF in October 1918 and was Discharged in December that year. Sam was a Motor Driver in 1922 when he married Phyllis May Brown (b1901 in Newcastle, NSW). Sam and Phyllis settled in Melbourne, where they raised their family and Sam worked as a Motor Driver.
Alf started work in Melbourne as a Textile Worker with British and Continental Fabrics, and was a Fitter with Henderson's Federal Spring Works in 1942. Following his Discharge from the RAAF, Alf was working in Melbourne as an Instrument Maker/Repairer with Trans Australian Airlines (TAA) in 1949 when he married Joan Elizabeth Couacaud (b1929 in Melbourne, Victoria). Alf and Joan settled in Melbourne, where they raised their family and Alf worked as an Instrument Maker and Engineer. In 1954 Alf was passenger (as Instrument Makeer for TAA) in a new Vickers Viscount Airliner which crahed on take off and burst into flames' killing three Pilots Trove 1954). Alf and Joan both died in 2015.
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