Stanley Pardy was born in Whittington in 1877. His birth was registered at Chesterfield in the second quarter of that year (Apr, May, June). He was baptised at Old Whittington church on 1st April 1877.
His parents are listed as Fred and Alice Pardy and Fred’s occupation is a sawyer. A sawyer is as it says someone who saws wood for a living. There was a timber yard at the bottom of Whittington Hill. (It can just be made out at the bottom of the map just left of centre). Unfortunately, it is only speculation that this is where Stanley’s father worked.
In 1881 Stanley was living at his maternal grandparent’s home at 179 Sheepbridge Lane (Sheepbridge Lane is the road that goes through the old Sheepbridge Works) with his mother Alice and his father along with his younger sister Lilian.
Sometime between 1881 and 1883 the family moved to Stapleford, Notts and Stanley’s father took over a grocers shop on Derby Road. The 1891 census shows that the family has grown. Stanley now has three brothers and three sisters and at the age of 14 he is working as a Lacemaker!
Nottingham has a long history of lace making and many of the villages around Nottingham (including Stapleford) were involved in the trade. This website at gives an insight into lacemaking in Stapleford.
Stanley must have decided to change profession at some point in the 1890’s, when he married on 24 September 1899 his profession was listed as engineer and he is living in Liverpool.
Its interesting to note that Stanley’s sister Lillian was one of the witnesses to the marriage.
His wife Edith Adelaide Seddon lived at the Roebuck Hotel Queens Square in Liverpool where her father was hotel manager, this may have inspired Stanley to change profession again later in his life.
Sadly, Edith died in 1900 aged just 22, the couple were still living in Liverpool at the time or at least Edith’s death was registered there. I have been unable so far to find Stanley on any census record for 1901. He may have been out of the country working as an engineer.
Stanley remarries early in 1904 to Lucy Adams. The marriage is registered in Nottingham.
Stanley was on the move again, I checked for the birth of children and Lucy and Stanley had two girls, Muriel and Jessie. Muriel Adams Pardy’s birth was registered in Shardlow Derbyshire in 1905 but surprisingly Jessie Adams Pardy was born in Santiago Chile in 1909. She was baptised in Old Whittington in 1910.
As you can see in 1910 the family were living at the Brunswick Hotel. The Brunswick Hotel is now called The Derby Tup and is on Whittington Moor.
Photo courtesy of Denise Crookes
It is unclear whether Stanley was the publican as his occupation is still listed as engineer.
I was surprised to find that Stanley’s daughter Jessie was born in Santiago, but after checking outward passenger lists it would appear that Stanley left Liverpool for Valpariso Chile on 20th August 1907. He travelled on the ship Oropesa of the Pacific Steam navigation Co. and his occupation was listed as clerk.
Mrs Pardy followed on 12th March 1908 on the same ship Oropesa. What is confusing on this passenger list is the entry for Master Pardy, as far as I am aware she would have travelled with her young daughter Muriel who was born in 1905.
Many British workers went to Chile and Bolivia to help set up the railway network over there, Stanley’s occupation had been registered as engineer previously perhaps that is why he ended up in Chile! I have no documentary evidence to support this it is just a possibility.
The family didn’t stay there long. Jessie was born there 24th January 1909 and a year later on 24th January 1910 Stanley’s wife Lucy returned on the ship Orcoma with the two children and Stanley himself arrived back in Liverpool on September 5th 1910.
On the returning passenger list Stanley is again listed as an engineer and Irish. There appear to have been several mistakes made on the passenger logs concerning Stanley and his family!
The next information I can find for the family is the 1911 census record where the family are registered at Pottery Lane Whittington Moor.
Stanley’s occupation is again listed as an engineer and it states that he works in engineering, however the address at Pottery Lane could be the Junction Inn. The census was taken on the night of Sunday 2nd April 1911, the following newspaper report from the Sheffield Telegraph 11th December 1911 would confirm that Stanley had been the licensee at the Junction Inn for 14 months. It also reports that he has ‘been in the trade all of his life’. He certainly led a full and varied life!
It would appear that Stanley became the licence holder at more than one public house between 1911 and signing up for World War 1. The next record I can find is in Kellys Trade Directory where Stanley Pardy is a Beer retailer in Eckington. The address given was actually The Bird in Hand pub in Eckington. To double check that this was actually the correct Stanley Pardy, in the National Schools Admissions and Log books for Eckington Board School (later council Infants) I traced Jessie Pardy born 24th January 1909, father Stanley address given as Bird in Hand, Eckington. She was there until 4th February 1914 when she was transferred to Whittington Moor Infants.
Extract from Kelly’s Trade Directory 1912
According to the school record Stanley and his family moved to Whittington in 1914. Lucy was definitely living at Sheepbridge in 1916, at 635 Forge View Sheepbridge.
Unfortunately, Stanley’s service records do not exist, but he joined the Army Service Corps, Regimental Number M2/081485 and attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Stanley was attached to the Mechanical Transport division, shown by the letter M before his regimental number. The Army Service Corps was the predecessor of the Royal Logistics Corps of today. It was the Army Service Corps job to move food, equipment and ammunition around the lines. This link gives more information on the Army Service Corps at
Sadly, Stanley died on 8th January 1916. He drowned off the coast of Italy when the ship he was on, SS Citta di Palermo, was sunk. The newspaper article below mentions Sergeant Major Pardy, possibly Stanley had just been promoted but I haven’t found any record of that as yet. According to the newspaper report he had tenanted licensed houses in Eckington (Bird in Hand) Whittington Moor (Junction Inn and/or Brunswick Hotel) and Dronfield.
Taken from Sheffield Daily Telegraph 26th February 1916
The Citta di Palermo left Brindisi on the morning of January 8th,
1916, with a number of troops for Durazzo, including a British
contingent of four officers and 139 other ranks. At 8.30 a.m., when
six miles N.E. of Brindisi, the vessel ran into a small minefield. She
struck one of the mines and foundered almost at once. Fortunately, a
number of minesweepers were in the vicinity and they came to the
rescue with great promptitude.
The number on board the Citta di Palermo was just over 200, of
whom about half were saved including 84 British.
(Extract taken from https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/102870-ss-citta-di-palermo/)
Picture from IWM Lives of World War One
The following report taken from the Reading Mercury 19th February 1916 gives a first-hand account of the sinking of the SS Citta di Palermo.
The grave registration report for Stanley shows that his wife is now living at Forge View Sheepbridge.
Stanley was lost at sea and as his body was never recovered he is commemorated on the Hollybrook Memorial at Southampton (details of which can be found here
The panel list where Stanley is remembered also shows other men lost from the same vessel.
Stanley was 38 years old when he died. His medal card shows he was awarded the British War Medal.
Added 30th August 2018
Stanley Pardy is remembered on Old Whittington and the Brushes War Memorials.
His wife Lucy never remarried and continued to live in Whittington. The 1939 records show that she was living at 64 Church Street North.
Muriel Pardy married a Whittington man, Thomas Hopkinson, in 1927 and in 1939 she was living at 62 Church St North Old Whittington.
Jessie Pardy got married in 1944 to Thomas Barton, in 1939 she is listed with her mother at 64 Church Street North.
Old Whittington One Place Study 