[1] Born in Castle Church, Staffordshire he was educated at King Edward VI School, Stafford and St John's College, Oxford, where his course of study was Honour Theology.

[5] In 1891 he accepted a position as an assistant curate from the vicar of Holy Trinity parish, Dalston in the north-east of London.

[2] Emigrating to New Zealand in 1894, he became Vicar of St Michael and All Angels in Christchurch on 2 March 1894, remaining in that post until his consecration as bishop.

He supported the St John Ambulance Association and Brigade, the New Zealand Red Cross, serving as a vice-president of the Auckland Branch.

[12] Alfred's eldest son, Walter Averill, became a priest and served as Archdeacon of Timaru; a second son, Leslie Averill, served with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force towards the end of the First World War, and played a key role in the capture of Le Quesnoy in France.

[13] A third son, Wilfred Selwyn Weir Averill, trained as a barrister and solicitor, practising law in Hawkes Bay.