John R Hartley was the son of Samuel and Sarah Hartley. He was born about 1921. ‘Jack’ joined the Royal Navy prior to World War 2 as a cadet seaman and served with a number of Royal Navy ships prior to his final posting on the destroyer HMS Stanley. On the 14th of December 1941, HMS Stanley was deployed on convoy escort duty. At approximately 04:15 hours on the 19th of December, HMS Stanley (I73) was hit by two of three torpedoes, exploded and immediately sank about 330 miles west of Portugal. HMS Stanley sank with the loss of all but 25 of her crew
The Memorial is situated centrally on The Hoe which looks directly towards Plymouth Sound. It is accessible at all times. Copies of the Memorial Register are kept at the Tourist Information Office at Island House.
