Sergeant
Stanley Henry C Ranns
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About Stanley Henry Clifford

  • Name
    Stanley Henry Clifford
  • Initials
    S
  • Surname
    Ranns
  • Date of Birth
    1894
  • Birth town
    Ipswich
  • Resided town
    Ipswich
  • Commemorated
  • Nationality
    English
  • Place of death
  • Date of death
  • Married
    yes
  • Occupation
    Iron Foundry Worker

Service Information

  • Army

  • Service Number
    35717/78008844
  • Rank
    Sergeant
  • Regiment
    Machine Gun Corps

Biography

Stanley Henry Clifford Ranns was born in 1894 at Ipswich.  His father John, a railway inspector on the Great Eastern Railway, lived with his wife Ellen at 24 Orwell Road, Ipswich.  Stanley had two older siblings, Lillie and Herbert.  Herbert served with the Bedfordshire Regiment and died in France on 15 October 1918.

Stanley attested in Colchester on 19 February 1914, but we do not know which corps or regiment he joined.  He transferred to the Machine Gun Corps (MGC), based at Belton House near Grantham, on 13 May 1916.

Stanley passed through Peterborough East Station on 12 September 1916 and interestingly signed his book entry as Sergeant Instructor however, the records we have traced record him as a Private initially and a Lance Corporal by the time he left the Army in 1926.  He wrote in the visitors’ book: “I thank you very kindly in every possible way for the kindness shown to a poor old Chap when stranded by the good Ladies of the above rest. Come unto me all ye weary & I will give you rest.”  His medal record indicates that he served overseas before July 1917.

Stanley married Alice Winifred Brown in Hartlepool just before the First World War ended.  They settled in the Grantham area, having a son Clifford in 1920.  There is a 16 year gap before three more children followed, Betty, Charles and Barbara, all born in the Grantham area.  Stanley continued his army service after the war and transferred from the MGC to the Tank Corps on 24 January 1922, whilst based at Regents Park, London.  Lance Corporal Stanley Ranns was discharged from the Army on 18 February 1926, after 12 years service.  His address on discharge was Stubton, near Claypole, Lincolnshire.  Stanley was awarded the British War and Allied Victory medals.

Stanley’s grandson Barry, has been traced and informs us that Stanley returned to working in the shipyards of the North East.  Sadly, he had an accident and fell into a ship’s hold, consequently he went insane.

Alice Ranns died in 1977 at Barrow-in-Furness.

Campaign Medals

The Allied Victory Medal
The British War Medal, 1914-18

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