Mark Stanley
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
Mark Stanley and Eliza North married in 1877 and had seven offspring, all boys. They settled in Torworth, Notts and whilst there had three children, John born 1879, George 1880 and William 1883. The family moved on from there and took up residence at Mattersey Road, Ranskill where they had four more children, Fred in 1885 Luke 1886, Matthew 1888 and Mark Stanley born 1891. Sometime in the next ten years, they all moved to Retford, 92 Moorgate, where Mark senior was working as a general carter. In 1903 Eliza died at the age of 52 and in 1907, her husband died aged 51. This caused all the family to split up and go their own way. In 1911, Mark Stanley was one of seven coal miner boarders’ living in Adlington Yard, Pontefract, Yorkshire.
Mark enlisted at Gainsborough, Lincolnshire and went to France on 20 December 1915. He was killed at the time and place when the Cambrai operations took place. He has no known grave and is Commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France. Private Mark Stanley Retford Times 1 June 1917 The late Mr and Mrs Mark Stanley, Retford had a family of seven sons and news has just been received that the youngest of them, Pte Mark Stanley of the Lincolns was killed in action in France on April 28th. He was single, was a moulder at the engineering works of Messrs Marshall, Sons and Co. Ltd., Gainsborough and was 24 years of age. He joined the force in September 1915, having been three times rejected. He went to France at the end of that year and was buried no fewer than three times, on one occasion for four hours. He became stone deaf and came to Retford on leave last New Year’s Day. He returned to the trenches in March and a month later was killed through a bursting shell. There are three other sons of the family with the colours, while the remaining three have attended but are exempt. They are as under:- Pte Fred Stanley, Notts and Derby, now in hospital in Wellington, Shropshire, having been badly “gassed”: Pte Luke Stanley, Notts and Derby, has been wounded and has been returned to France; and Pte Matthew Stanley, Cyclist Battalion has had trench fever and was sent to a hospital in Ireland and is now in Retford on sick leave. Of the other three, the best known is Mr Jack Stanley, Myrtle Street, Retford who is an engine driver at the Retford Waterworks
Research by Colin Dannatt
