Stanley was born in April 1923 in Hackney, London to Barnett and Rebecca nee Kaufman and he had three siblings, Bernard, Anna and Aubrey. The family lived in Stamford Hill where Barnett worked as a school outfitter.

Stanley trained as a navigator after enlisting in 1941. He was the navigator on Mosquito HR151 alongside RCAF Pilot William Crawford Charde, J/11328. The aircraft departed from RAF Blackbushe at 20.51 for a night patrol over the North Ruhr and failed to return. It was Stanley’s thirty-eighth mission.