He studied at Newton College, Devon and arrived in East Asia in March 1891.

In 1906, he was appointed agent at Saigon and in 1909 he returned to London as sub-manager of the home office.

[2] He married Ethel Mary Townsend, daughter of A. M. Townsend, former manager of the London branch and director of the London Board of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC).

One son, Nicolas John Stabb, a pilot for the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, was killed in 1942 during the Second World War.

He died at the age of 63 in London on 1 December 1931[3] and was buried in Brookwood Cemetery in Woking.