Footnote: William Stanley was born in Swinton, England on December 15th but the year of his birth varies, depending upon what he stated it was on the three Attestation Papers he signed. He was a resident of Peterborough, Ontario when he signed his first Attestation Paper with the 139th Infantry Battalion "Northumberland Battalion" (814619) on January 19, 1916 in Cobourg, Ontario, naming his next-of-kin as his wife, Mary Stanley of Peterborough, stating his birth date as December 15, 1871 which made him 44 years old (stated as 43 on the form), that he had sixteen years' service with the York and Lancaster Regiment, that he was Married and that his trade was that of Caretaker. He was a resident of Peterborough, Ontario when he signed his second Attestation Paper, this time with the 256th Infantry Battalion (1099157) on January 19, 1917 in Peterborough, Ontario, one year after signing his first Attestation Paper, naming his next-of-kin as his wife, Mary Stanley of Peterborough, stating his birth date as December 15, 1868 which made him 48 years old, that he had sixteen years' Imperial service (York and Lancaster Regiment) and eight months with the 139th Infantry Battalion, that he was Married and that his trade was that of Caretaker. During his medical examination, its was noted that he had a tattoo of a cross and the letters "M.A.S." (his wife's initials) on the front of his left forearm. The 256th Battalion was raised in Central Ontario with mobilization headquarters at Toronto under the authority of G.O. 69, July 15, 1916. The Battalion sailed March 28, 1917 under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel W.A. McConnell with a strength of 18 officers and 531 other ranks. The Battalion served in France as the 10th Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops. Judging by the piece of trench art, Stanley served in France and Belgium. However, for whatever reason, possibly his age, he returned to Canada. Sergeant Stanley was a resident of Peterborough, Ontario when he signed his third Attestation Paper (1099157) at the Engineer Training Depot in St. John's (now Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu), Que
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Canada. A Named 256th Battalion Trench Art Service Dress Cap
Canada; Fabricated from a brass shell casing and fashioned to look like a CEF service dress cap, complete with a protruding piece bent back to create the visor, the front engraved with the 256th Infantry Battalion insignia, flanked by "1099157 CORPl" above "FRANCE" on the left and "W. STANLEY" above "BELGIUM" on the right, with the date "1917" below the insignia, two sets of production markings on the bottom, the top line is mostly obscured, while the bottom line is inscribed "A. RS. L296 14 P", 86.5 mm (w) x 56.5 mm (h), light contact, near extremely fine.
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