Pair: W. H. Stapley, Merchant Navy late Able Seaman, Royal Navy. Mounted for wear. VF
William Henry Stapley was born at Portsmouth on 17 December 1881 and enlisted in the Royal Navy on 7 September 1898 as Boy Class II. Reaching the rank of Able Seaman by 1902 he served until 15 March 1909 with a poor record, having spent no less than five stretches in the cells. By the outbreak of the Great War Stapley was serving with the Merchant Navy.
