Where in Brum did he live at the time?
Most men worked quite close by which might give us
an idea where he might have worked.
My one issue is that he's been mentioned as a hydraulic engineer/fitter/lifter
which is a very niche occupation.
Had he worked in a shadow factory his skills would have been used in any repair/maintenance role.
This makes me think he may not have & worked in such a place & exclusively worked on hydraulic lifting gear in another location but struggling to see where that might be in Brum.