Person:William Stanners (2)

William Horace James Stanners was born at home in London England. He was named for his father William, with middle names for his two uncles who died in WWI. he grew up in a lower middle class neighbourhood in London with his 2 younger brothers, Ron and Arthur.

As a child, he went to Allfarthing Lane Elementary School, Wandsworth, London, and later to Sir Walter St John Grammar School, Battersea. Life growing up was not easy. At school, there was a constant battle in the social hierarchy, and he was frequently challenged to fights, particularly as he was very tall for his age. He joined the school boxing team. He was a bright student, but didn't apply himself. Despite this, he won a scholarship to Christ College, but he declined.

He met the girl who was to become the love of his life, Mary Toye, on Wandsworth Common. She called him Stan.

With the war in full swing, he enlisted in the British Army the day after his 18th birthday. In Sep 1942 he was posted to the 58th Primary Training Wing in Perth, Scotland, and on Oct 3 assigned to the 8th Infantry Training Centre. On Feb 1 1943 he joined the 1st Batallion, Highland Regiment. Mar 3 he was promoted to an Acting Unit Leader, Corporal. In June he passed a course at the School of Signals in Catterick to train as a radio operator. He was demoted back to private on Aug 2 for standing up to an officer who made an unreasonable request of his unit after a hard day's training. On Aug 3, he was assigned to the 10th Batallion, Black Watch. He was promoted to AUL Cpl again on Sep 30.

During his time in the infantry in Britain, he joined the boxing team . He said he did so only because the boxing team got double rations. He was the heavyweight champ of his batallion, and was solicited to go professional. he declined, declaring it to be a "mug's game".

In Nov 1943, he was deployed to North Africa and joined the 6th Batallion on Dec 6. He was wounded in the leg by machine gun fire on Apr 25, 1944. On Dec 6 he joined the 6th Batallion, and was sent to Italy as part of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. On Oct 20, 1944, at the Battle of Monte Cassino while putting up a tarpaulin to cover the light from a window in a building where his buddy was receiving medical attention, he was struck by mortar fire. A piece of shrapnel penetrated his right thumb and blinded his right eye. In later years, a piece of shrapnel would periodically find its way out of his head and emerge behind his ear. He could not bend his thumb, nor see with his right eye for the rest of his life.

On Mar 10 1945, he was transferred to the Royal Corps of Signals, and remained a part of the British North Africa Force as an Operator, Keyboard and Line (OKL) until Feb 1947. Transferred back to London, he served in the War Office Signals. He remained in the reserve until 21 Nov 1952.

Like many other soldiers, he was reticent to speak of his war experiences. He told one tale of where he was pinned face down in the muck all day by machine gun fire. At night, when he returned to his unit under cover of darkness, he found the radio on his back had been shot. His key learnings from the army "never run when you can walk; never walk when you can stand still; never stand when you can sit down; never sit when you can lay down; never stay awake when you can go to sleep".

As soon as he was free of the army, he and Mary decided immediately to be married, much to the disapproval of both sets of parents. . They married on 22 Feb 1947 at Wandsworth Town Hall. Both sets of parents were there, as well as Bill's younger brother Arthur and his mother's sister Hilda. Bill's brother Ron was not present, as he was in the army in Greece.

Life in London after the war was not easy. Accomodation in particular was very difficult to find, and as neither sets of parents would allow them to live together in their homes, they lived separately for a year. Bill lived with his parents on Ellsborough Street. He got a job at Masson Scott & Co on Riverside Rd in Summerstown, London SW17. Through Arthur's girlfriend Magaret Wright,in Feb 1948 they then found an appartment that was a damp, shabby, converted air raid shelter, below ground with an outdoor toilet. Bill, being 6'7" tall, frequently hit his head going out to the loo. At nights, he earned a Metropolitan College, London County Council Association of Cost and Works Accountants certificate.

They decided to emmigrate to Canada. They arrived in Toronto in June 1951 with $12, but fortunately during the voyage they had made friends with an older couple who allowed them to stay at their home. They lived in a number of different appartments in town, including one that turned out to be a bawdy house. Bill took a night job at Massey Harris as a labourer lifting steel around. His hands got ripped. During the day he went for interviews. He had 3 interviews with Abitibi, and finally secured a job as an accountant.

In 1953, he struck out to take a chance as one of the original 6 employees of S&C Electric, a Chicago-based firm that manufactures high voltage electrical fusing and switching gear. Their green boxes can be seen across Canada. He started as their accountant, then Chief Accountant, and finally Controller.

His first daughter, Wendy, was born in 1953 while they lived in an appartment on Spadina Ave in Toronto. His son, Duncan, was born in 1955. His daughter Ailsa arrived in 1957. He was a family man.

Bill became a Canadian citizen on Sep 20, 1956. The description on his certificate describes him at 6'7", with grey eyes and dark blond hair.

Family complete, they bought their first home at 31 Cloverhill Road in 1958. In 1962, Stan's work moved to Rexdale in NW Toronto, and the family moved to a new home at 14 Braddock Road.

His family was his passion. Every day, after kissing Mary, pulling out of the driveway he would flash the headlighs to say goodbye. He would come home for lunch every day, and Kiss his wife hello as he wallked in the door after work.

Bill loved the outdoors, and went on camping and canoeing trips with his buddies from work and later, his son and daughter whenever he could.

Family holidays were spent at various rented cottages in Muskoka. One week, then two weeks were the vacation allotment in those days.

Bill also became a SCUBA diver, and joined the Etobicoke Underwater Club. He was a strong swimmer and loved the water. He had all the gear, and liked to dive the wrecks in Georgian Bay.

He shared his wife's love of dogs, and in 1965 the family got Nicholas, a white German Shepard, and then Alfred, Nick's black and white son.

He made a deal with Mary to learn how to dance if she learned how to swim. They took dance lessons, and every Friday they would go for dinner and ballroom dancing at the Skyline Hotel.

In 1971, Bill was diagnosed with lung cancer. He underwent surgery to remove the lung, but it was too late. He died in Apr 1972., Bill didn't believe in life insurance, viewing every year he survived the war as a gift. The mortgage on the house was paid off by his company, and Mary stood prepared to stand alone. This is the last picture of Mary and Stan together, while he was in the hospital.

Bill was a man who loved his family and loved the outdoors. He worked hard and earned a good life for his family. His death at the young age of 47 was a terrible blow to those who loved him.

1. ↑ England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes, in General Register Office
   1d 891, Jul-Sep 1924.

   Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916-2005 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.
   Original data: General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. London, England: General Register Office.

2. ↑
3. ↑