Stanley Picton was born in late 1890 in Hemel Hempstead, Herts the fourth child of Frederick Picton and Mary Jane Hicks. Stanley had three sisters; Lily, Mabel and Hilda and two brothers; Frederick and Bertie. His father Frederick was a Carpenter and the family lived at 6 Astley Road in Hemel Hempstead when Stanley was born.

Stanley’s mother Mary Jane died in 1899 when he was only nine years old leaving his father Frederick to raise the young family alone. By 1901 the Pictons had moved and were living at 37 Cotterells in Hemel Hempstead with nineteen year old Lily helping her father look after the children.

Stanley started work at Dickinson & Co. Limited shortly after leaving school in 1906 and stayed with the company until the outbreak of war. Whilst at Dickinsons he met Ellen Plested, a Watford girl whose family had moved to Anchor Lane in Boxmoor when she was a child. She worked as a Clerk in Apsley Mills and she and Stanley became sweethearts.

Following the outbreak of war, Stanley enlisted in late August 1914 attesting at Hemel Hempstead and joining the Bedfordshire Regiment. He was immediately posted to the 4th Battalion at Felixstowe to undergo basic training. During a spell of home leave at the end of the year, Stanley and Ellen married in Hemel Hempstead, on Sunday, 27th December 1914 and in early 1915 their only daughter Alice Ellen was born.

Stanley returned to his Battalion after his marriage and a few months later in April 1915 he was posted to the 2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment and sent to France. He disembarked at Le Havre on the 21st April and joined the Battalion at Estaires six days later.

Less than a month after arriving, Stanley saw his first significant action at the Battle of Festubert from the 15th to the 25th May when the 2nd Bedfords incurred over 320 casualties including 45 Killed. He then fought in and survived the 2nd Action at Givenchy in June followed by the Battle of Loos in September 1915 in which a further 355 casualties were incurred.

In 1915 Dickinsons suffered a strike by both male and female employees in a dispute over pay. This was not well received by many people and Stanley felt moved to write to the Hemel Hempstead Gazette with his views. His letter was published in early September. 

By June 1916 Stanley was at Albert where he fought in the opening phase of the Battle of the Somme in early July. On the 10th July the 2nd Bedfords were ordered to attack Trones Wood which was occupied by a well-entrenched enemy. Early in the morning on the 11th July the assault began and from the start the men ran into difficult terrain and very intense German machine gun fire and shelling. Progress was slow and the casualty rate high throughout the day with only a little ground gained from the enemy. Numerous attempts were made to improve the gains but to no real effect and within 24 hours the Bedfords pulled back from the Wood. They had suffered over 200 casualties.

At some point during the assault, probably in the first wave of attacks, Stanley had been killed and his death is recorded as Tuesday, 11th July 1916.  

He is commemorated on the Dickinson & Co. Limited War Memorial in Apsley.

Stanley is Remembered with Honour on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France, Pier and Face 2 C.  

He was 26 years old when he died.

Stanley was entitled to the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal.