Alfred Joseph Bernard was born to Noah and Rose Bernard in Belleview, Manitoba. He was working as a miner with the International Nickle Company in Sudbury when he enlisted in the army on 7 March 1942. He was posted to the Royal Canadian Engineers and transferred to the 1st Field Company where he qualified as a Group B Miner and Group C Pioneer
Sapper Bernard arrived in the UK on 10 July 1943 and was in Italy by November. A month later his brother, Flt-Sgt David Bernard, RCAF, was declared missing during a bombing raid over Germany.
On 26 August 1944, his company was working on route clearance and maintenance between the Metauro and Foglia Rivers on the Gothic Line. In the course of his duties, Sapper Bernard's vehicle struck an anti-tank mine and he was seriously wounded in his chest and abdomen with lacerations to his face, left arm and left leg. He was rushed to the British 6th Light Field Ambulance but died later that day.
Sapper Alfred Bernard, the husband of Dorothy and father of four-year-old Gerald and 18-month old Roy, is buried in the Ancona Commonwealth War Cemetery.