Carter Postcard Collection

Chelmsford Chronicle Friday 13/5/1921 reported: 'On Saturday and Sunday respectively handsome war memorials were unveiled at Saffron Walden and Malden by General Lord Horne, G.C.B., K.C.M.G., A.D.C., Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, at Upminster by Brigadier-General C. H. de Rougemont, C.M.G., C.B., D.S.O., and at Epping by Brigadier-General J. T. Wigan, C.M.G., C.B., D.S.O., M.P. SAFFRON WALDEN. At Saffron Walden the memorial stands at the south end of High Street, in the centre of the open space. It is a handsome structure, thirty feet high, of the finest brown Whitbed Portland stone. It is octagonal in shape. The platform is 16ft. 6in. across, surmounted by three steps. It has a tapering pedestal, with eight sunk panels fitted with bronze tablets, which contain the names in raised letters of the 158 men who sacrificed their lives. The inscription is as follows : "For perpetual remembrance of the men of Saffron Walden who laid down their lives for their country in the Great War, 1914- 1919." "The victor heroes rest in many lands, But here the symbol of their glory stands." On four sides are the carvings as follows: (1) a wreath of wild roses surrounding a shield, with St. George in relief; (2) a wreath of English oak surrounding a shield, with the arms of the county of Essex; (3) a wreath of Saffron crocus, and shield with the embattled walls, enclosing three Saffron crocus flowers; and (4) a wreath of bay leaves, enclosing the old town seal of a lion rampant, and fleur de lys in relief, in sunk panel enclosed by a septfoil. The base stone (on top of the pedestal) is carved in a large bay leaf wreath. From this spires a tapering shaft with a moulded cap, surmounted by a cross. The Union Jack flew half-mast on the municipal building, the United Services Comrades' Club, the Conservative Club, the Banks, and several business houses. A muffled peal was rung upon the bells of the Parish Church, and the business of the town was suspended during the hours of the ceremony. The Mayor (Mr. D. Miller, J.P.) and members of the Corporation robed at the Council Chamber, and marched from the market to the site of the memorial, headed be ex-Service men, who formed a guard of honour. There were also present the Saffron Walden Borough Band, the Saffron Walden B.P. Scouts, the Girl Guides, and the men and women of the V.A.D. detachments. About 500 school children were also present, and accommodation was also provided for the widows and other relatives of the men who lost their lives in the war. Upon the arrival of General Lord Horne, the buglers of the Boy Scouts gave the salute, after which the General inspected the guard of honour. The Chairman the Committee (Mr. P. G. Cowell) then introduced Lord Horne to the Mayor, and the National Anthem was sung, followed by the hymn, " O God, our help in ages past." The Chairman of the Committee then invited Lord Horne to unveil the memorial, and his Lordship released the Union Jack which had covered it. Lord Horne said that from time immemorial men of British blood had never hesitated to give their lives in the call to duty. So it was with the 158 men of that town. He was proud of what Saffron Walden had done. It sent one in every six of its sons to help the country, and their pride was justified and honoured. And while they thus honoured those who did not get through, honour should also be given to those who did, and who in many cases had come home maimed and limbless. All hearts went out in sympathy for those who lost their relatives in the war, and in gratitude also to those men for their glorious deeds. They were grateful also for what all the ex-soldiers had done. They did their duty. They helped to pull the old country out of its difficulty in war, and he would ask them to do the same now in peace. All had been through an exciting time, and they knew now more than ever that it was a double duty to keep that which had been made. When they looked upon that splendid memorial they could say, These men did their duty, and I will, please God, do mine." Applause.) The bugle band sounded the "Last Post," and the Vicar (the Rev. L. Hughes) read the dedicatory prayer, which was followed by the hymn, "For all the saints." The Rev. E. Jackson read a passage of Scripture, and the Vicar pronounced the Benediction. The Mayor then proposed a vote of thanks to the General, and the Chairman of the Committee presented the Mayor with an illuminated record (in a gilt frame) of the proceedings of that day, and the authority handing over the memorial to the town. The Mayor said this would be hung in the Council Chamber, to remain there for all time. The buglers then sounded the "Reveille". Wreaths were afterwards placed upon the memorial for the Town Council, the Memorial Committee, the ex-Service men. Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, and relatives of the men. The Mayor and Mayoress afterwards gave a reception at the Town Hall, at which Lord and Lady Horne were present'. (N.B. a further name, George King, was later added to the WW1 section of the memorial). https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000516/19210513/001/0002

The full names and biographical details of those commemorated on the WW1 panels of this memorial can be found via a link from the following website https://saffronwalden.gov.uk/cemetery/ or directly from https://saffronwalden.gov.uk/data/documents/969.pdf?5be2b0ff

Herts and Essex Observer Saturday 5/10/1946 reported: 'Walden's "Victor Heroes" Remembered. Lady Braybrooke Unveils Memorial Before 700 Townspeople. Saffron Walden remembered "those other Victor Heroes" of the Second War for Freedom on Sunday afternoon, when seven hundred people watched Dorothy Lady Braybrooke unveil tablets on the War Memorial bearing the names of 50 men and women who lost their lives during the war. The service was simple and sincere, with the British Legion Choir leading the singing, and a lone bugler sounding the Last Post and Reveille. The most moving incidents were as Lady Braybrooke - mother of two sons killed in the war - drew aside the flags which draped the tablets, and as the relatives and friends of the borough's heroes placed their personal wreaths on the steps of the memorial. By three o'clock townspeople had filled the square, and relatives of the men in whose memory the service was being held stood beside members of the Town Council. The Mayor and the Mayoress (Alderman and Mrs Custerson) were present, with the Deputy Mayor (Alderman S. S. Wilson), the robed members of the Council, and Wing Comdr. E. M. Thompson, representing the R.A.F. Station, Debden. The service began with the singing of the National Anthem, and then the Rev. S. B. Harris called the congregation to prayer. After Lady Braybrooke had unveiled the tablets, Mr. R. Godward (the British Legion County Secretary) read Binyon's immortal verse - "They shall not grow old" - and the response "We will remember them" was the town's promise to hallow the memory of the men and women who will not return. There was an impressive silence as Lady Braybrooke, accompanied by her daughter (the Hon. Catherine Neville), placed a wreath in memory of her two sons - Richard 8th Baron Braybrooke, and the Hon. Richard Neville. The Mayor placed a wreath from the Corporation, and there were also tributes from the Homecoming Forces' Fund Executive, the British Legion branch, Saffron Walden Section Essex County Constabulary and the Thursday Lilleys and Wanderers Football Clubs. The Revs. S.B. Harris and A. J. Blower read the lessons, and Mr. Blower offered a prayer for the Nations. The Names of the Fallen. Above the tablets are inscribed these words: For perpetual remembrance of those other Victor Heroes who fell in the War for Freedom 1939/1945. These fifty names of the Fallen are on the tablets: Dennis R. Andrews, Leslie Arundel, Albert G. Auger, Charles B. Badman, Eric F. Banks, William F. Banks, Eric G. Barwood, Henry Bennett, Alfred E. Bowers, Richard 8th Baron Braybrooke, Richard D. Carter, Stanley R. Clarke, William J Cornell, Robert Cutting, Herbert Cowell, Ronald Dewey, Martin L. Donohoe, David R. Farnham, Ronald G. Fisher, Russell J. C. Flack, Henry G. Gilbey, Gerald H. Golby, William J. Goodwin, Eric W, Goodwin, Eric J. Graves, Roy M. Housden, Henry C. Ketteridge, Cyril A. Land, Hon. Robert Neville, Alec L. Osborne, John Palmer, Philip Pearson, Harry T. Perry, Herbert A. Pickering, John W. Piper, Hilda K. Pitstow, William W. Reed, Arthur E. Richardson, Alfred C. Salmon, Geoffrey W. Selby, Frederick A. Smith, Douglas Stoll, Thomas H. Swan, Cyril H. Walters, Frederick G. Waring, Reginald B. Watson, Charles A. Welch, Horace R. Wells, Richard L. Wood, Morrison J. Wootton'. (The report concluded by quoting the lengthy speech made by Reverend M.R. Sinker, Vicar of Saffron Walden. N.B. 2 further names were later added to the WW2 section of the memorial: Frederick C Malim and Harold A Thorne). https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003122/19461005/130/0006

Historic England's record of the Grade II listing of the memorial on 31/10/1994 can be found at https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1297763 They describe it as: 'War memorial on pavement projected into High Street at corner with Audley Road. 1921. Portland stone. 7.7m high, octagonal shaft with entasis surmounted by cross potent, battered cruciform base, re-entrant angles swept out to octagonal stepped plinth. Projecting hoods. Bronze commemorative plaques and heraldic wreaths on base facets, also inlaid names on upper steps. (White M: Saffron Walden's History: Saffron Walden: 1991-: 192)'.

The War Memorials Trust's record of this memorial can be found at https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/101169/