Uncle Maurice was the third child and second son of Lavinio and Letitia. He was born in 1893 in St Pancras London. As the brother of your great great grandfather he is your great great great Uncle Maurice.
Maurice begins a career in the Insurance industry when he is still a teenager and living with his family at 51 Alexandra Road Wimbledon in 1911.
This career is interrupted by World War One. Maurice and his younger brother Bernard decide to enlist in the army towards the end of August 1915. Interestingly they decide to enlist in the regiment of the Royal Engineers, but not just any division of the Royal Engineers. They enlist in the Motor Cyclist Special Reserve of the Royal Engineers. From what I can tell they were pre-approved for this Motor Cyclist Special Reserve prior to their official enlistment. In order to do this they had to undergo some kind of test of their motor cycling skills, which they both passed. At first it was not clear to me whether they had their own motorcycles until I finally figured out what the below says.
I believe it says “applicants motorcycle unsuitable” As a result I believe the Stacey brothers did apply with motorcycles they themselves owned. And, though the brothers passed the motor cycling skills test, their motorcycles did not. Their motorcycles were deemed unsuitable for the war. The brothers however were still accepted into the Royal Engineers Motorcycle Specialist Reserve based on their motorcycling skills. The Army then must have provided the Stacey’s with motorcycles to use.
See below the enlistment forms of Maurice signed August 26, 1915. .
Maurice is almost 23 years old. At this point he is still working in Insurance and lists his career as an “Inspector of Agents.” Maurice becomes Regiment Number 73194, his brother Bernard will be 73195. The regiment numbers are key when doing research on soldiers in any war as they help you quickly identify documents related to the person you are researching. As you can see below, his approval to join the Special Motorcyclist Reserve is given the day before he enlisted on the 25th of August, 1915.
One advantage of joining the Special Reserve was that Maurice and Bernard were immediately promoted to Corporal upon enlisting.
As shown in the document above , though it may be hard to decipher, the brothers are to report to the Royal Engineers Signal Service Rest Camp at Bletchley where I assume they will be assigned a motorcycle, maybe like the Triumph below, or maybe a Douglas.
Below is the most informative piece of paper from Maurice’s service records. It too is difficult to decipher. Maurice’s son Michael Lawrence claimed that his father was a heroic despatch rider who lost his leg in WW1. I think the below corroborates this story.
.From what I can tell: Maurice was transferred from the Base Signal Camp which I believe was in Dunstable England to France in October 1915. He suffers some form of casualty in 1917. It looks like in July in France. I think it reads “Leg Comp Frac Sev” something. I am taking this to mean that Corporal Maurice Stacey suffered a severe compound leg fracture. Maurice is then transferred to a hospital in England, though we aren’t told which hospital.
Uncle Maurice is discharged from the Army shortly thereafter as he is no longer physically fit for service.
The good news is that Corporal Maurice Stacey returns home safe and alive to the family home in Wimbledon in the summer of 1918.. For his service in WW1 he is awarded three medals . The 1914-15 Star, a British War Medal, and the Victory Medal.
Post-war
Maurice returns to his career in Insurance working for the Royal Exchange Assurance. Royal Exchange is an insurance company located in the Royal Exchange building shown below.
Maurice marries Doris Evelyn Bulling in the summer of 1923. They too settle in Wimbledon at 296 Coombe Lane. This home still exists.
Maurice and Doris have three children
Michael Lawrence Stacey
Gerald Christopher Stacey ( Named after his great grandfather?)
and daughter Julia Letitia ( named after her grandmother)
Doris passes away on March 17 , 1967 in Epsom, Surrey at age 69 where she lived at 42 Alexandra Road. Maurice passes away four years later at age 78.
I believe they are buried at the Epsom Cemetery although I can only find Doris listed there in plot S59.
Family of Maurice and Doris
Maurice and Doris’s two sons had impressive military careers. . .
You can google Rear Admiral Michael Lawrence Stacy and read about his illustrious career in various places on the internet. Interestingly his career had not only a military emphasis , but an environmental one as well. See below.
Gerald Christopher Stacey
And it is not just son Michael who had an impressive military career.
Major Gerald Christopher Stacey , also a son of Maurice and brother to Michael, has also won awards. In fact, in 1977, at the time of the Queens Silver Jubilee he was awarded a Silver Jubilee and Birthday award for his work with the British Green Jackets in training parachutists at the parachutist training centre in Netheravon , Wiltshire, England. See below.
You can find this your self online at the National Archives herehttps://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7633477
It is also referenced on this Wikipedia page – though you will need to do a search on his name https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_Silver_Jubilee_and_Birthday_Honours
Julia Letitia Stacey , sister to Michael and Gerald moves to San Francisco California where she marries .
We definitely have cousins from these families all descendents of Uncle Maurice in both England and also I assume in California .