Alfred Sharples Alfred Sharples was the husband of Ena Schofield , the father of Vera , Madge and Ian and the grandfather of Colin Lomax . Alfred met his future wife in 1917 when he was sent home from the war to nurse an injured leg . Although he and Ena had chemistry , Ena was upset to learn that Alfred was already married and she immediately left him alone . When the war was over , Alfred and Ena met again and Alfred put Ena in the picture of his marriage : it was a name - only affair . He had married the daughter of a man his father had owed money to . He also explained that his wife had recently died , and Ena gave things a second go . In 1920 , Ena and Alfred got married , and they had three children together : two daughters , Vera and Madge , in 1921 and 1924 respectively , and a son , Ian , who died two days after his birth . The family lived together in Inkerman Street . Alfred died on 19th March 1937 , at the height of the Depression , leaving Ena a widow with two children . They continued living in Inkerman Street , but Ena desired a change of scenery and moved her and her daughters into the vestry of the Glad Tidings Mission Hall on Victoria Street , where she stayed until 1968 . In 1967 , Ena decides to visit Alfred ' s grave along with her close friend , Albert Tatlock , who had served with Alfred during the war . When the two arrive , Ena is shocked to discover that someone has placed fresh flowers on his grave , and immediately begins to suspect that Alfred had another woman in his life . She finds more flowers , with a florist ' s card , and visits the florist in question , whereupon she discovers that a man bought them and that £100 has been transferred into her bank account . She receives a letter referring to her deceased son Ian as " half - pint " , and thinks automatically of Jack Brown , Ian ' s godfather ; he denies it but reminds her that Henry Foster also referred to her son by that nickname . It turns out that Henry is the sender , feeling guilty for taking a job that should have gone to Alfred . By means of an apology , he asks Ena to move in as his housekeeper in St . Anne ' s . She eventually decides , after declining a place in an old folk ' s home and staying with Minnie Caldwell , to lodge with Henry for a brief time . Alfred appeared in two pieces of " Coronation Street " fiction : Snug O ' War and Ena ' s Brief Encounter . In the former , Alfred is worried about returning home after losing an each - way bet on the Epsom Derby and breaking his shoe on the tramlines on Rosamund Street , as both will attract Ena ' s wrath . He , along with Percy Longhurst and Armistead Caldwell , take refuge in the snug of the Rovers Return Inn , but they are swiftly found and ordered out by Ena , Minnie and Martha . In the latter story , Alfred is away at war , and Ena meets up with childhood friend Will Watson . She realises that she loves both Alfred and Will and worries . However , Albert Tatlock ' s lady - friend , Bessie Vickery , has seen Ena and Will together and informs Alfred of this over a letter . Alfred , along with two other soldiers , goes off on a dangerous mission and doesn ' t return for three days , over which Albert frets over Bessie ' s letter . Alfred returns to Weatherfield for New Year ' s 1918 and , with permission from Thomas and Mary Schofield , takes Ena to a dance , in which Ena realises Alfred is the man for her .