Henry William Stanley was born Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on the 10th April 1892 the son of Robert Oliver and Madeline “Maidie” Stanley (née Cuming) of 1. Florence Villa, Belfast. His father was a warehouse man at the time of his birth, but had formerly been a draper, and while Henry was still a child, he became a mantle and fur dealer. His mother was a national school teacher. The family later moved to 'Hillview', 14. Knockbreda Road, off the Ormeau Road, Belfast.
Henry was one of six children in the family, but in 1907, the family suffered two tragedies when in February, his sister, Maidie, who was the youngest child, died of peritonitis, aged 8 years, and in November, Maud, who was the eldest child, died of pneumonia, aged 21 years.
After leaving school, Henry Stanley joined The Belfast Banking Company Limited and worked in its branches in Armagh, County Armagh and Kingstown, County Dublin.
In August 1911, he immigrated to Canada and settled in Trenton, Ontario, where he secured a position with the Bank of Montreal.
In the spring of 1915, however, perhaps because of the war, he decided to return home to Belfast for a holiday, and booked his passage, second cabin class, on the Lusitania which sailed from New York just after mid-day on 1st May 1915.
Six days out of New York, on the afternoon of 7th May 1915, the liner was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20, within sight of the coast of southern Ireland and about fourteen hours sailing time away from the safety of her Liverpool home port.
Henry Stanley was one of the many second cabin passengers who were killed as a result of this action and as his body was never found and identified afterwards, he has no known grave. He was aged 23 years.
In an obituary article about him in The Belfast News Letter, published on 13th May 1915, it was stated: -
Of a bright and cheerful disposition, he was a great favourite in the social circles in which he moved, and was welcomed all the more because of his outstanding gift as a musician. He was a very capable pianist and also excelled as a vocalist. Although only 23 years of age, he had won the respect and esteem of the heads of the very important banking company which he served in the Dominion, and his prospects were exceedingly promising.
Both Henry Stanley's brothers served in the British Army, during the Great War. His elder brother Second Lieutenant Robert Oliver Stanley served with the 12th Battalion, The Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and was killed in action on 9th April 1916 in Mesopotamia. Like that of his brother, his body was never recovered and identified after the war and as a result, he is commemorated on Panel 15 of The Basra Memorial to the Missing, in Iraq.
Henry Stanley's younger brother Private John C. Stanley served with 8th Battalion, The Royal Irish Rifles and survived the war.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1901 Census of Ireland, 1911 Census of Ireland, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, Cunard Records, Belfast News Letter, PRO BT 100/345, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.