[1] Born in Boroughbridge, Yorkshire, Stapleton attended Bradford Grammar School and St John's College, Oxford.
His career was interrupted by the First World War: in 1915, he was commissioned first in the Indian Army Reserve, then joined the 24th Punjabis in Mesopotamia.
He was in action at Ctesiphon and involved in the retreat to Kut-el-Amarah, and after his surrender, he spent two and a half years in a Turkish prison camp.
After the war, he spent some time in Oxford and Jersey, and in late 1919 resumed his career with the Indian Education Service, in positions of leadership, including Principal of Presidency College Calcutta, and Special Officer for the opening of Dacca University.
He retired in 1933, went to Jersey, and in 1935 visited India again to catalogue and advise on the preservation of manuscripts in the library of Hyderabad University.