Background
Staveley was born in York, the son of William Staveley and Henrietta Henderson.
Staveley was born in York, the son of William Staveley and Henrietta Henderson.
He entered the British Army in 1798 as an ensign. Staveley fought in several conflicts in the Peninsular War (Battle of Talavera, Battle of Fuentes de Onoro, Battle of Vittoria, Battle of the Pyrenees, Battle of Toulouse, Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo and Battle of Badajoz and many other minor actions). He went to Mauritius in 1821 and served in various roles (deputy quartermaster-general and commandant of Portuguese Louis) before becoming Commander and Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong in 1847.
After leaving Hong Kong in 1851, he was given command of the Bombay Army.
In 1853, he was made as Colonel of the 94th Regiment of Foot and appointed commander-in-chief of the Madras Army (with local rank of lieutenant-general). He died in the Nilgiri Hills, and was buried at Ootacamund.
Staveley Street in Central in Hong Kong is named after him. Their children included Charles William Dunbar Staveley, Harriet Frances Staveley, and Caroline Octavia Emma Staveley, who in 1847 married Talavera Vernon Anson Registered Nurse.