Saffron Walden historian Robert E Pike reflects on the stories behind the names on the town's war memorial.
"To five little stone lozenges, each about a foot and a half long, which were arranged in a neat row beside their grave, and were sacred to the memory of five little brothers of mine—who gave up trying to get a living, exceedingly early in that universal struggle...." Charles Dickens, Great Expectations.
Charles Dickens’ novel, Great Expectations, written some 50 years before the Great War powerfully describes, in the opening words, the high rate of infant mortality at the time.
By 1914 death especially amongst the poor was still commonplace but did little to ease the tragedy of the huge losses of the so-called ’war to end all wars'.
Saffron Walden in 1915 saw one more name added to the growing roll of honour (now 25). The name of a young man whose circumstances are not dissimilar to those of Pip.
The war that was to be over by Christmas 1914, was now approaching its second celebration of a forlorn “peace on earth“.
Bob Chance was the son of Joseph Chance of 25 Castle Street, who had moved from Saffron Walden to 60 Comber Grove, Camberwell.
Bob had been to the Boys’ British School and was a printer employed by Walter Thompson in the Market Place.
He was a keen member of the town football club, and a member of the congregation at the Baptist Church - his name is on their memorial.
On the opening of hostilities in 1914 Bob responded quickly to the call to arms.
He enlisted on September 11, 1914 and left Saffron Walden on November 7 or 8.
Perhaps because of his London connections he joined the 2nd Royal Fusiliers, and spent some months training at Stockingford near Nuneaton as part of 86th Brigade 29th Division.
In March 1915 the regiment embarked at Avonmouth on the Alaunia for Alexandria, arriving there on March 28.
The next stop was Lemnos on April 11, before journeying to Gallipoli, landing on April 25, 1915 on X Beach, before attacking Hill 114 the same day.
The 2nd Battalion was involved in the fighting at Krithia and Suvla Bay and in one of these engagements Bob was severely wounded.
He was shipped back to the island of Lemnos where the hospitals were usually no more than tents, where there was a scarcity of medical equipment and food.
Bob died four days before Christmas. He is one of 352 graves in the military cemetery.
At the time of his death his father was in France himself with a labour (navvy’s) battalion.
Five weeks later Bob’s mother died aged 50, her brief life being one of almost perpetual pregnancy, giving birth to six children. Only one, Bob, reached adulthood.
Today the Chance plot in the town cemetery has no ‘lozenges’ to mark her grave, nor those of George (age 10 months), Gertrude (age two), Alice (age five days), John (age one day) and Ethel (age nine).
Bob CHANCE (G/1513) 2nd Royal Fusiliers, died of wounds December 21, 1915 aged 21. Buried at Portianos Military Cemetery, West Mudros, Lemnos, Greece.
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