William Stansfield

Colonel William Stansfield, (19 November 1874 – 19 May 1946) was a British-born Australian soldier and a railway officer in the Queensland State Railways. He served on Gallipoli and in the Middle East during the First World War.

Early life Stansfield was born in 1874 at Wadsworth, Todmorden, Yorkshire, the son of the bootmaker Mitchell Stansfield and Margaret Ann Stansfield (née Forrester). He was a descendant of the Stansfield family of Stansfield, Yorkshire. The family emigrated to Queensland in 1887. Stansfield was educated at Kelvin Grove State School, Brisbane, and worked for the Queensland State Railways from 1898 to 1914.

Stansfield joined the 1st Division, Australian Military Forces, in 1921. He was promoted from brevet major to lieutenant colonel in 1922. He was awarded the Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers' Decoration. He retired in 1937 as honorary colonel, but returned again as Assistant Director of Remounts, Northern Command, in 1939, and as Liaison Officer for Civil and Military Defence, before finally retiring in 1941. Stansfield died on 19 May 1946.