Al spent most of his life in Victoria BC, except for the four years he spent with the RCN at the end of WW2 where he served on corvettes during convoy duty, however chronic sea sickness ended his sailing career and he transferred to the P&RT Trade.   On release from the RCN, he entered the fire service working for the Saanich Fire Department, the provincial fire service and finally as the Fire Chief of the DND Fire Department. He retired in 1991 at age 65. At age 91 in Calgary at the 2016 Western Canadian 100% Raw Power-lifting competition, he bench-pressed 144lbs, a Canadian record for his age group and weight; it was also apparently beyond any US record for that age and weight. Al quite regularly attended the monthly PTI Brunch in Victoria.