Alfred Gilliam was born on 21 May 1889 in the British Army Barracks in Athlone, Co Westmeath, Ireland. He was the son of English parents, soldier Alfred Gilliam and the former Elizabeth Hiney. He had a younger brother Percival who was born in India. 

Alfred’s mother died when he was young and the remaining family settled in Plumstead, Middlesex, appearing there on the 1901 census. 

In April 1912 Gilliam was serving as a waiter aboard the eastward-bound voyage of the Carpathia when that ship rescued the survivors of the Titanic. 

Alfred Gilliam continued working at sea as a bedroom steward after the Titanic disaster, serving with the merchant fleet during both World Wars. He was still working as a bedroom steward aboard Île de France in August 1945 but his final whereabouts remain unclear.