Early in his career, Stanley received an Army Efficiency Medal, but in 1992 he was awarded a Canadian Forces Decoration (CD); at 85, he was almost certainly the oldest Canadian soldier so to be honoured. Stanley was an Honorary Ex-Cadet #H889 of the Royal Military College. He was made a Knight of Justice of the Order of Saint John (and held the Victoria Medal with bar of the Order), a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Lazarus, and a Comendador of the Brazilian Order of São Paulo. He was a Fellow of the Company of Military Historians and a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International. He was a Life Member of the Royal Canadian Legion, the New Brunswick Teachers' Association, the York-Sunbury Historical Society, the Kingston Historical Society, the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada, the Military Institute of Fredericton, the Fredericton Garrison Club, and the Union Club of Saint John. While he was the Queen's Representative in New Brunswick, he was made an honorary citizen of the "Republic of Madawaska". In 1994, Stanley was awarded a special certificate of merit by the Kingston Historical Society to mark the 100th anniversary of the Society and to recognize his long devotion to their work and to historical research and architectural conservation.