Ambrose Stenning was born in Brighton, England, on 26 November 1889. The seventh of nine children to Ambrose Stenning (senior) and Frances Greenfield, he was educated at Oval Road Board School in Croydon, London, and after leaving school worked as a carpenter. Ambrose was 10-years old when his father passed away in Eastbourne. In about 1909 one of his older brothers, Charles, migrated to West Australia and settled in the south-west coastal town of Busselton.
Two years later Ambrose made the same journey and took up residence in Fremantle. A few months later his eldest brother, Frank, arrived in West Australia with his wife and their two children. Ambrose worked as a carpenter for a period before joining the 36th Royal Australian Garrison Artillery, whose role was to protect Fremantle in the event of enemy attack.
In 1914 RAGA entered the First Junior football league in which Ambrose played occasionally before the team disbanded in early August, following Australia’s entry into the war. The artillerymen were not given permission to serve abroad until 1 June, 1915, when Ambrose and ten of his RAGA teammates enlisted in the Siege Artillery Brigade.
The Gunners travelled to England where they completed training and were organised into the 54th and 55th Batteries of the 36th Heavy Artillery Group, Ambrose assigned a position in the latter. The 36th Heavy Artillery Group arrived in France in late February 1916. Soon after three of the Gunners were killed and fourteen others wounded when the Germans shelled their billets at Mont St Eloy, near Arras.
Ambrose escaped injury but after just 27 days in France his luck ran out during another German gun attack. Ambrose Stenning was killed in action on 26 March, 1916; he was buried at Ecoivres Military Cemetery at Mont St Eloy.