Stanley Watts

NORTH SHEEN CEMETERY Sec. C.G. Row I. Grave 24.

Trooper Stanley Watts from Nottingham served with the Royal Horse Guards during World War II. He volunteered for parachute duties in June 1940, becoming an early member of No. 2 Commando, but died during a training jump at RAF Ringway on 27 August 1940 due to a parachute packing fault.

In June 1940, he responded to a call for volunteers to form Britain's early airborne and parachute forces, officially transferring on 27 May 1940 as part of No. 2 Commando.Parachute.

He began ground training at RAF Ringway on 8 July 1940.

After an earlier fatal accident in July caused training to pause for equipment redesign by Raymond Quilter, Trooper Watts became the second British parachuting fatality on 27 August 1940. His fatal equipment failure led to immediate design updates to the parachute packing system used by airborne forces.

The phrase "King's Corporal" was likely used within his family or community as a term of high respect or pride rather than an official rank. In the early days of WWII, the Commandos were hand-picked volunteers tasked with high-stakes raiding missions directly under the crown's directives. Because "King's Corporal" exists purely as legendary wartime lore for a soldier honored for bravery in the field, families often applied the term to loved ones who volunteered for these dangerous elite units.