Alfred George Chalkley was born in Plaistow in 1904. He came from a well-known footballing family. His older brother George Chalkley played centre-half for West Ham United during the 1908-09 season. Alfred Chalkley played for England Schoolboys against Scotland in Liverpool in 1917. At the time he was a goalscoring left-winger. He joined the British Army and afterwards worked as a steel erector. He played local amateur football before signing for West Ham in 1931. He scored only one goal in his 202 games. It came on 2nd March, 1932, against Manchester City, when an intended clearance from his own penalty area got caught in the wind and went over the head of the out of position goalkeeper. Chalkley retired from football in 1937.