Darlinghurst St, Sydney
6320
13th Battalion, 20th Reinforcements
Gilgandra Coo-ee
KIA 11.2.1917 France
Private Stanley Everard Stephens 6320
Stanley was a 25 year old journalist who had come to Gilgandra to cover the Coo-ee March for the Farmer and Settler newspaper. His father was the editor of the magazine. Stanley liked what he saw, so enlisted and marched with the Coo-ees. Stanley had previous service experience with the Australian Naval Military and Expeditionary Force from August 1914 to January 1915, when the Australian Navy, under British control, was sent to seize German New Guinea and the New Britain Archipelago on 11 September 1914.
He was single and his parents Effie and Harry Stephens lived at 19 Roslyn Gardens, Darlinghurst. The medical examination described him as 5’ 7” tall, 136lbs (61kgs), fair complexion, brown eyes and brown hair. No distinctive marks noted.
Stanley sent detailed stories back to Sydney which were published in the ‘Farmer and Settler.’ He trained at Liverpool Camp with the Coo-ee recruits but remained behind and underwent further training for Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO) at Duntroon and Kiama.
Stanley embarked on the Euripides with the 13th Battalion on 9 September 1916 to disembark at Plymouth, England on 26 October 1916. He trained at Codford with the 4th Training Battalion then left for France on the ‘Princess Clementine’ in December 1916. Stanley was taken on strength on 2 January 1917 with the 13th Battalion when they were in the Somme. He saw action on the frontline and was wounded during an attack at Guedecourt.
Stanley rejoined the unit in February and was missing in action on 11 April 1917 at the First Battle of Bullecourt. That day saw 367 men missing in action, 25 men killed and 118 men wounded. A court of enquiry held in October 1917 declared that he was killed in action on 11 February 1917. A report from the Red Cross Missing and Wounded Bureau stated that he was badly injured with a bomb , he was bandaged up but suffered so much loss of blood that there was little hope he survived.
He is commemorated on the Coo-ee Gateway Memorial, the Australian War Memorial Panel 71 and the Villers Bretonneux Memorial. Stanley was commemorated at a Last Post Ceremony held on 11 April 2018. 2015 Coo-ee Re-enactment Marcher, Maurice Butler attended.
Stanley’s parents were issued with his 1914-15 Star (because of his service in New Guinea), the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. They received a Memorial Scroll and the Memorial Plaque.
Stanley’s parents, Harry and Effie Stephens lived at 19 Roslyn Gardens, Darlinghurst. His mother was the secretary of the 13th Battalion Comfort Fund. Stanley’s younger brother, Percy Stephens 1611 was also in the 13th Battalion. He survived and returned to Australia.