In 1937, he became an assistant curator at the Royal Scottish Museum, in Edinburgh, where he worked for the remainder of his professional life, rising to become Keeper of Art & Archaeology (1961–74).

[4] During World War II, Aldred served in the Royal Air Force, returning to Edinburgh in 1946, to undertake a serious study of Egyptology.

[5] During his time at the Met, Aldred used his artistic eye to dramatically improve the presentation of the exhibitions and helped identify and catalogue a number of previously overlooked artifacts in storage.

[citation needed] In 1956, Aldred returned to the Royal Scottish Museum to enhance the Egyptology team and in 1961 he was promoted to keeper of art and archaeology, a post which he held until his retirement.

During his time at the RSM, he not only gave lectures but also made significant purchases and helped the museum vastly improve not only the Egyptology displays but also the West African and South Sea's sections.

He died peacefully at his home in Edinburgh in 1991, and is remembered as one of the leading characters in improving archaeology in Scotland at the Burrell Collection in Glasgow.