Hero of the Month: SSgt Christopher ‘Chax’ Chacksfield (1978 – 2010)
SSgt Christopher Chacksfield was a popular, gentle, larger than life husband, father and soldier, with a bright future ahead of him in the Royal Corps of Signals. He joined the Army when he was 17 and served for 14 years, completing tours of Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
On the 3rd of June 2010, Chris died from head injuries sustained in an unprovoked attack. He was 31 years old. His daughter, Sofia, was just three.
SSgt Christopher Chacksfield
“He had a very peaceful manner about him and was loved by everyone he met,” says Adele, Chris’s wife. “His funeral was held at Derby Cathedral and the whole place was absolutely packed. People had to queue outside and listen to the service as there just wasn’t enough room for all the people there.”
Chris originally came from Tamworth, living with his parents and three sisters and attending schools in the local area. As a teenager, he was a member of the Air Cadets and went on to join the military in 1997.
“He initially got rejected because he was too skinny and they told him to go back and put some weight on,” says Adele. “You wouldn’t have known it a few years later once he’d filled out a bit!”
Chris and Adele on holiday with baby Sofia
Chris trained in Lichfield and then went to the Royal School of Signals in Blanford, where he completed his trade training. A Keen fitness enthusiast Chris also trained to become a PTI (physical training instructor) where he was employed as one of the PTI’s on the ‘P’ Company training courses.
“Chris was the keenest, greenest non-infantry soldier you’d ever meet,” says Adele. “He’d undertake any kind of military course and do it to the best of his ability. He actually went on to be an Army Training Instructor back in Lichfield, where he’d previously completed his basic training.
Chris enjoying a drink
Of all Chris’s career achievements, however, one moment stands out above the rest.
“Chris was promoted to Staff Sergeant when he was 29, which is quite a young age for such a rank in the Royal Signals, and he had been earmarked to be a future Corps Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM). Not long before he died, we attended a ‘dine out’ for the outgoing RSM who had been commissioned. It’s tradition for the leaving RSM to hand their pace stick to someone who they think will fill their shoes and go on to achieve great things. He gave it to Chris. It was a huge moment for him and we actually buried Chris with that pace stick in his coffin.”
Chris in uniform
Adele is also ex-military, having served 20 years in Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC).
“I was undertaking my nurse training in Birmingham. One of my friends knew one of Chris’s friends and asked if we fancied a night out. Of course, being a bunch of nurses, we jumped at the chance! The rest, as they say, is history.”
Chris and Adele welcomed their daughter, Sofia, on the 8th of December 2006. Chris was immediately besotted and was an extremely hands-on father.
“In January 2010, I was deployed to Afghanistan,” says Adele. “Chris had just been posted to 14th Signal Regiment in Pembrokeshire, so we took the married quarters there and he looked after Sofia on his own during the four months I was away. They were out all the time exploring the area, going to the local beaches, taking the dog for a walk. I think that time was really precious for them both, especially as it was only a couple of months after I returned that Chris died.”
Chris with Sofia and their dog
Despite dying when Sofia was only three, she and her mum have lots of ways they remember their hero.
“We have photos everywhere, along with bits of his clothing, military statues and all kinds of trinkets. Sofia also looks very similar to Chris, especially as she gets older, and on Remembrance Day she wears his medals. She always reminds us of him. Aside from that, we keep his memory alive by talking about him all the time and telling tales of the things he used to get up to and the kind of person he was. He’s always on our minds.”
Sofia and her mum also enjoy going on family holidays to the Greek island of Cephalonia, where they used to go with Chris.
“For us, there’s a close connection between Cephalonia and Chris. Sofia and I made some of our favourite memories with him there.”
Sofia attending Scotty's Christmas Party
Sofia joined Scotty’s Little Soldiers in 2017 and has been supported by the charity ever since, benefitting from Scotty Breaks, grants and access to one-to-one bereavement support. She has also attended various events including Party at the Palace, an event for bereaved military children held at Buckingham Palace, which members of Scotty's Little Soldiers were invited to, as well as a number of Christmas parties. Through these events, she’s been able to meet hundreds of bereaved military children who understand what she’s been through.
“It’s nice to talk to people who are similar to you,” says Sofia. “It reminds me I’m not the only one who has gone through this stuff.”
“It’s been a lifeline in a way,” adds Adele. “It's a chance to meet other families who have been in a similar situation, which you don’t get in normal day to day life. We have a whole support network made up of other Scotty families we’ve met over the years. Everyone has this mutual bond and is so supportive of each other.”
Sofia pictured with Kate Middleton at Party at the Palace
