John Butler was born in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, on 20^th December 1888. Educated at Wellington College, he followed in his father’s footsteps by pursuing a military career. He attended the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and was commissioned into the King’s Royal Rifle Corps as a Second Lieutenant in February 1907 and promoted to Lieutenant in 1909. He served in India with the 4^th Battalion, and later was attached to the Pioneer Company of the Gold Coast Regiment, part of the West Africa Frontier Force.

During the First World War, while serving in the Cameroons (then part of German West Africa), Butler displayed exceptional bravery that earned him the Victoria Cross. His citation reads:

“For most conspicuous bravery in the Cameroons, West Africa. On 17th November 1914, with a party of 13 men, he went into the thick bush and at once attacked the enemy, in strength about 100, including several Europeans, defeated them, and captured their machine-gun and many loads of ammunition. On 27th December 1914, when on patrol duty, with a few men, he swam the Ekam River, which was held by the enemy, alone and in the face of a brisk fire, completed his reconnaissance on the further bank, and returned in safety. Two of his men were wounded while he was actually in the water.”

In 1915 Butler was promoted to Captain and awarded the Distinguished Service Order. He was subsequently posted to German East Africa (now Tanzania) with his regiment. On 5^th September 1916, at the age of 27, Captain Butler was killed in action at Motomba. He was first buried where he fell, and later reinterred in Morogoro Cemetery, Tanzania.

In addition to his Victoria Cross and Distinguished Service Order, Captain Butler received the 1914 Star, the British War Medal (1914-20), and the Victory Medal (1914-19). He appears on the Roll of Honour in Cirencester Cathedral. His courage is also commemorated by a brass plaque in St Lawrence’s Church, Wyck Rissington, Gloucestershire, near his home.