Sergeant Alfred Robert Coburn (580946) served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He was the son of William J. Coburn of 10 Roosevelt Street, Belfast. Alfred had 2 brothers, Cecil Coburn and Eric Coburn.
Alfred enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and served as a Wireless Operator before the outbreak of the Second World War. Before 1939, he worked for the Belfast Corporation Gas Department. He married in July 1940.
Sergeant Coburn died on 2nd September 1940 aged 24 years old while serving with R.A.F. 40 Squadron. He was an Observer on Bristol Blenheim L8796 BL-C. The crew took off from R.A.F. Wyton, Cambridgeshire, England on 1st September 1940. The mission was a bombing raid over Germany. On the return leg of the journey, the Blenheim struck a tree and broke in two.
Alfred Robert Coburn’s grave is in Glenalina Extension, Section R, Grave 158 of Belfast City Cemetery, Belfast. Representatives from the R.A.F., the Y.M.C.A. Bible Class, and the Belfast Corporation Gas Department attended the funeral.