Major General Donald Clunes Butterworth (3 February 18952 March 1983) was a senior

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer.

Military career

Butterworth was commissioned into the

North Staffordshire Regiment The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was created on 21 April 1758 from the 2nd Battali ...

on 23 February 1915 during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. As commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion the North Staffordshire Regiment, Butterworth was sent to France shortly after the outbreak of war in September 1939 as part of the British Expeditionary Force and was involved in the battles of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

before eventually being evacuated from Dunkirk on 1 June 1940. He was appointed a companion of the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

in recognition of his role in this action. He went on to become commander of the 218th Brigade in the UK in October 1940, commander of the 113th Brigade in the UK in July 1941 and General Officer Commanding

38th (Welsh) Division The 38th (Welsh) Division (initially the 43rd Division, later the 38th (Welsh) Infantry Division and then the 38th Infantry (Reserve) Division) of the British Army was active during both the First and Second World Wars. In 1914, the division ...

also in the UK in April 1942. After that he was deployed to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

to become General Officer Commanding 78th Infantry Division in August 1944 and saw action fighting around the

Gothic Line The Gothic Line (; ) was a German and Italian defensive line of the Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence along the summits of the northern part of the Apennine Mountains du ...

before handing over command in October 1944 and retiring in June 1948.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Generals of World War II
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Butterworth Donald 1895 births 1983 deaths Military personnel from Nottinghamshire North Staffordshire Regiment officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British Army generals of World War II British Army personnel of World War I British Army major generals