John Ernest Stubley was born in Great Casterton, the younger son of John and Elizabeth Stubley. The family later moved to Tinwell before settling in Stamford. It was from Stamford that John enlisted, joining the 6th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment. He was killed during the Battle of the Somme, in September 1916. According to his battalion's war diary, the Lincolnshires were occupying Constance trench just north of Ovillers. On 17 September a bombing attack was made on the Germans in Joseph's Trench. In the evening, the Germans retaliated as the war diary reports: "Enemy counter attack on Constance Trench [was] beaten back." Fighting apparently continued into the night and by the time it was all over the Lincolnshires had lost two officers killed and eleven Other Ranks. One of these presumably was John Stubley. He is buried at Pozieres British Cemetery, grave IV.D.8. Sadly, he is not remembered on the war memorials in either Great Casterton or Tinwell, but his name is on the main war memorial in Stamford and on the ones outside and inside All Saints' Church in the town.

See where all our Rutland soldiers died during the Battle of the Somme on our interactive map.