William Stanlake

On 26 October 1854, during the opening phase of the Battle of Little Inkerman, a Russian force of approximately 4,300 men commanded by Colonel Federov advanced out of Sevastopol from the Karabel Faubourg. Crossing the ravine toward Careenage Bay, the Russian column moved east along the base of Mount Inkerman before turning south to assault Sir George de Lacy Evans’s 2nd Division camped on Home Ridge. Forward piquets engaged the advancing enemy along the slopes of Shell Hill in dense fog and broken terrain. Operating ahead of the primary defensive line, a specialized unit of regimental sharpshooters commanded by Brevet-Major Gerald Goodlake of the Coldstream Guards worked to suppress Russian sentries and locate enemy concentrations.

Among these sharpshooters was twenty-three-year-old Private William Stanlake. Assigned to reconnoitre an enemy piquet guarding the Russian approach, Stanlake received explicit warnings regarding the high probability of detection and fire. He advanced alone across exposed ground, crawling to within six yards of an active Russian sentry without alerting the surrounding garrison. Maintaining his position to observe the layout and numerical strength of the outpost, Stanlake withdrew to British lines and delivered detailed tactical intelligence to his commanding officer. Armed with this reconnaissance, Major Goodlake launched a sudden surprise attack that overran the Russian position.

The official citation for the Victoria Cross was published in the London Gazette on 24 February 1857 under the surname spelling Stanlock:

"For having volunteered, when employed as one of the sharpshooters in October 1854, for reconnoitring purposes, to crawl up within six yards of a Russian sentry, and so enabled the Officer in command to effect a surprise; Private Stanlock having been warned beforehand of the imminent risk which he would run in the execution of this service."

Born on 31 October 1830 at Uppacott Farm in Halwill, near Okehampton, Devon, Stanlake was the son of John Stanlock, an agricultural labourer, and his wife Mary. He worked as a farm labourer before attesting for service with the Coldstream Guards at Totnes on 27 July 1852. Following the outbreak of the Crimean War, he deployed to the Black Sea theatre with the 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards, forming part of the Guards Brigade within the 1st Division.

Throughout the Crimean campaign, Stanlake participated in every major engagement fought by the Guards Division. He fought at the Battle of the Alma on 20 September 1854, supported operations at Balaklava, served in the trenches during the Battle of Inkerman on 5 November 1854, and remained on active duty throughout the Siege of Sevastopol. For distinguished bravery in the field, he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal in 1855, accompanied by the Crimea Medal carrying four combat clasps (Alma, Balaklava, Inkermann, Sebastopol) and the Turkish Crimea Medal.

Regimental records indicate that Stanlake did not attend the initial public Victoria Cross investiture conducted by Queen Victoria at Hyde Park on 26 June 1857. Having been convicted of theft by his commanding officer shortly before the ceremony, military authorities deemed his presence inappropriate for a royal investiture, delivering his decoration through administrative military channels.

On 1 July 1860, while stationed in London, Stanlake married Frances Adelaide Collins (née Kempthorn), a widow, at the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula within the Tower of London. He took his final discharge from the Coldstream Guards on 28 January 1863 after ten years and six months of continuous service, retaining the rank of Private throughout his career.

Following his military discharge, Stanlake settled in South London, residing at Blue Anchor Lane in Camberwell. He died on 24 April 1904 at seventy-three years of age and was interred in Camberwell Old Cemetery. His grave site remained without a permanent marker until a replacement headstone was dedicated in 1987, followed by a updated monument in 2011. His complete four-medal group is preserved and displayed at the Coldstream Guards Regimental Headquarters, Wellington Barracks, London.