​​Chief Petty Officer William ‘Bill’ Stone was a dedicated Royal Navy serviceman who spanned nearly three decades of British naval history. Born in Ledstone, Devon, in 1900, he was one of fourteen children. Though initially turned away by his father, Stone successfully enlisted in the Royal Navy on his 18th birthday in 1918, shortly before the end of the First World War. Although too late to see combat, he was present at the scuttling (sinking) of the German fleet at Scapa Flow in 1919.​

Stone remained in service through the interwar years and into the Second World War. He served on a number of ships, including HMS Tiger, HMS Hood, HMS Eagle, and HMS Newfoundland. Most notably, he served as Chief Stoker aboard HMS Salamander during the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940, where he helped rescue over a thousand Allied troops. Later, during the Allied invasion of Sicily, HMS Newfoundland was torpedoed, and Stone’s role in saving the ship earned him a Mention in Despatches (the official report of the event, written by a superior officer).

After retiring from the Navy in 1945, Stone became a barber in Paignton, Devon, running his own shop until his retirement. In his later years, he remained active in veterans’ organisations and was a familiar face at commemorative events, including ceremonies marking D-Day and VE (Victory in Europe) Day.

Bill Stone passed away in 2009 at the age of 108, he is remembered as one of the last surviving Royal Navy veterans of both World Wars. His life spanned eras of profound change, and his service offered a living connection to some of the most significant events in modern British and naval history.