Frank Buttle (19 October 1878 – 11 February 1953), was a priest of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

and the founder of

Buttle UK Buttle UK, formerly known as The Frank Buttle Trust, is a UK charity that provides financial grants to children in need. Founded by Frank Buttle in 1937 but not operational until after his death in 1953, the charity has helped many thousands o ...

Early life

William Francis Buttle was born in

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th centu ...

on 19 October 1878. He was a son of William Buttle, a solicitor, and Mary Wilby, daughter of William Henry Ward, a builder. Soon after Frank’s birth, the family moved to

Woldingham Woldingham is a village and civil parish high on the North Downs between Oxted and Warlingham in Surrey, England, within the M25, southeast of London. The village has 2,141 inhabitants, many of whom commute to London, making Woldingham part o ...

, near

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extens ...

. Frank was educated at Whitgift Grammar School. Having first trained as a solicitor, his real ambition was to become a clergyman. He went first to the

University of Durham , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills ( Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_ch ...

and then to

Downing College Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...

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. He was ordained in 1906 and served in a number of parishes. He was vicar of St Chad’s,

Haggerston Haggerston is a locale in East London, England, centred approximately on Great Cambridge Street (now renamed Queensbridge Road). It is within the London Borough of Hackney and is considered to be a part of London's East End. It is about 3.1 miles ...

in the London Borough of Hackney from 1937 until his death in 1953. In December 1950, the ''

Sunday Dispatch The ''Sunday Dispatch'' was a prominent British newspaper, published between 27 September 1801 and 18 June 1961. It was ultimately discontinued due to its merger with the ''Sunday Express''. History The newspaper was first published as the ''Wee ...

'' wrote of him:

Work

Child welfare issues

Frank Buttle was perhaps the first person to challenge the abuses of

baby farming Baby farming is the historical practice of accepting custody of an infant or child in exchange for payment in late-Victorian Britain and, less commonly, in Australia and the United States. If the infant was young, this usually included wet-nur ...

– the taking in of infants to nurse for payment – and to offer the very practical alternative of adoption. On the outbreak of war in August 1914, Buttle began his child welfare work, especially in connection with children rendered homeless and orphaned through the war. He formed the National Adoption Society, and by 1930, 3,000 adoptions had been arranged and a home for unmarried mothers was established in Surrey. It was later renamed and ultimately merged with Parents and Children Together

The Frank Buttle Trust

Buttle's activities expanded to include the large numbers of children for whom no adopters could be found, in addition to continuing to help adopted and orphaned children. Buttle subsequently raised £1 million to create an endowment meant to support 1000 children each year. Upon his death in 1953, he was £80,000 short of his objective. Later that year, the full amount was raised and the two "Buttle Trusts" he had originally established in 1937 were amalgamated and became operational. His brother Gladwin Buttle, physician and pharmacologist, acted as chairman of the trust from 1953 to 1974. In March 2011, The Frank Buttle Trust changed its name to Buttle UK. The endowment is worth almost £50 million today and provides around £1 million of income each year that supports the charity's running costs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buttle, Frank English social workers People from Brixton 1953 deaths 1878 births 20th-century English Anglican priests