COLCHESTER fell silent as the town honoured one of the bloodiest battles in British history.

More than 500,000 men died at Passchendaele in northern Belgium, which became known to soldiers as the Battle of the Mud - for the gain of five miles of territory.

The Rev David Barrett, senior chaplain for 16 Air Assault Brigade in Colchester, led a commemorative service which marked 100 years since the first troops went over the top on July 31 1917.

More than 100 people paid their respects at the war memorial in Colchester High Street, with a minute’s silence falling over the town centre.

A spokesperson for Colchester Garrison said: “In Colchester there is a fantastically strong relationship with the current units of the Armed Forces.

“This encompasses long traditions and an ethos which are nurtured, and was reflected in the turnout we had at the event yesterday.

“It went fantastically with all different age groups being represented which is always refreshing.

“The event represented the military community working with Colchester Council and the Royal British Legion to honour both Colcestrians and all those who fell in this particular battle.”

An estimated 245,000 Allied and 215,000 German casualties, either dead, wounded or missing, fell during approximately 100 days of heavy fighting for the Third Battle of Ypres.

Brigadier Nick Perry, commander of the 16 Air Assault Brigade, laid a wreath at the memorial in tribute.

Alongside military and civic dignitaries, soldiers from the town’s 16 Medical Regiment paid particular tribute to Captain Noel Chavasse, who received the nation’s highest honour for gallantry .

Captain Chavasse continued to work for two days, despite being heavily wounded, rescuing and providing medical assistance to his comrades.

He got as close as 25 yards to the German line.

Special guests at the ceremony included Lord Petre, the Lord Lieutenant of Essex, who was there as the Queen’s representative in his final week of appointment.

The High Sheriff of Essex Simon Hall was also in attendance as well as Colchester mayor Gerard Oxford and representatives of Chavasse VC House recovery centre.

Based at Berechurch Road, Colchester, Chavasse VC House has been run by the military charity Help for Heroes to support wounded, injured and sick veterans in their recovery since 2012.

The man behind the medals

THERE is no greater honour than to be awarded the Victoria Cross twice.
Or to be remembered as someone so courageous, he put his comrades’ lives before his own as he dashed across no-man’s land to treat injured friends.

But there is much more to Captain Noel Chavasse, a Royal Army Medical Corps officer who died of wounds he refused to have treated during Passchendaele.

Captain Chavasse, who gives his name to the Chavasse VC Recovery Centre in Colchester, served as a chaplain during the First World War, rising up the ranks of the Church of England to be nominated Bishop of Rochester.

Being the son of the Bishop of Liverpool, his interest in the church came as no surprise.

He was one of four brothers, Bernard and Aidan and twin Christopher, all of whom served together in the war. 

Aidan died just a month before Noel did on August 4 1917 after getting wounded on the battlefield.

Once his comrades returned to him, Aidan was gone, but his body was never recovered.

Today his name is listed on the Menin Gate, a memorial to the missing in Belgium, and he was ranked third out of 100 Greatest Merseysiders in a 2003 BBC poll.

But Captain Chavasse is believed to be commemorated by more war memorials in the UK than any other. Sixteen have currently been recorded with a hospital ward and public garden also being named after him.

Before embarking on life in the Armed Forces, he qualified as a doctor.
Alongside his twin, he also ran the 400m for Great Britain in the 1908 Olympics