William Leslie Stanger

Acting Company Quartermaster Sergeant, London Regiment (Queen’s Westminster Rifles)

William Leslie Stanger was a student at Alleyn’s until 1904 and lived at 39 East Dulwich Road with his parents, William and Edith, during this time. After the outbreak of the First World War, William decided to enlist in the British Expeditionary Force and he joined the war effort as part of the London Regiment (Queen’s Westminster Rifles) after being found fit for service. In September 1916, he was sent for service overseas on the Western Front during the time of the major British operation on the Somme. After just two months in France, the Queen’s Westminster Rifles were transferred from the Western Front to the Eastern Front, where they were needed to bolster the British Salonika Force. William served as part of this campaign for a year and it was during this time that he was injured in action after receiving a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Fortunately, William was able to make a swift recovery from his injury and he re-joined his regiment in Egypt in June 1917. After spending another year on the Eastern Front, the regiment was transferred back to France in June 1918 as the Allies prepared to launch their Hundred Days Offensive against a now exhausted German Army. William survived the war and received the British War and Victory Medal for his service after the conflict came to a close in November 1918.