Thomas Adair Butler
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Thomas Adair Butler VC (12 February 1836 – 17 May 1901) was an English recipient of the
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
and
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
forces.


Early life

Thomas Adair Butler was born at
Soberton Soberton is a village in the River Meon, Meon Valley, Hampshire, England, east of the A32 and a few miles south of the village of Droxford. It appears in the Domesday Book as "Sudbertone" or "Sudbertune". For administration, it is in the Hamps ...
, Hampshire. He was the son of the Rev. Stephen Butler, of Bury Lodge,
Hambledon, Hampshire Hambledon is a small village and civil parish in the county of Hampshire in England, situated about north of Portsmouth within the South Downs National Park. Hambledon is best known as the 'Cradle of Cricket'. It is thought that Hambledon C ...
, by his first wife Mary Ann Thistlethwayte, daughter of Thomas Thistlethwayte (1779–1850), of
Southwick Park Southwick Priory or Our Lady at Southwick () was a priory of Augustinian canons founded in Portchester Castle on Portsmouth Harbour and later transferred north to Southwick, Hampshire, England. It ceased at the Dissolution of the Monasterie ...
; Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire, hereditary Constable of Porchester Castle and warden of the Forest of Bere. He was a nephew of Rear-Admiral Sir
Francis Augustus Collier Rear Admiral Sir Francis Augustus Collier, CB, KCH (7 August 1785 – 28 October 1849) was a senior officer of the British Royal Navy during the early nineteenth century. Born into a naval family, Collier served in the French Revolutionary Wars ...
. He was educated privately and gazetted as
Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...
to the 1st Bengal European Fusiliers, 9 June 1854; Lieutenant, 23 November 1856, and was afterwards Instructor of Musketry. He served in the
Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...
from 10 June 1857, was in all the engagements under the walls of
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
, was galloper to General Nicholson at the action of Nugafshot, and took part in the Storming of Delhi. He also took part in the actions of Gungehri, Pu and Minpoorie and was present at the Siege and capture of
Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...
where he won the Victoria Cross.


Details

He was 22 years old, and a
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
in the 1st European Bengal Fusiliers (later
Royal Munster Fusiliers The Royal Munster Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1922. It traced its origins to the East India Company, East India Company's Bengal European Regiment raised in 1652, which later became the 101st Regiment ...
) during the
Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...
when the following deed took place on 9 March 1858 at
Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, for which he was awarded the VC:


Further information

He later served in the
Umbeyla Campaign The Ambela campaign (also called Umbeyla, Umbeylah, and Ambeyla) of 1863 was one of North-West Frontier (military history), many expeditions in the border area between the Emirate of Afghanistan and the North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955), ...
and achieved the rank of
major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
in the service of the 101st Regiment of Foot.


The medal

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the
Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town o ...
.


References


Location of grave and VC medal
''(Surrey)''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Thomas 1836 births 1901 deaths Military personnel from Hampshire British East India Company Army officers Royal Munster Fusiliers officers British recipients of the Victoria Cross Indian Rebellion of 1857 recipients of the Victoria Cross People from the City of Winchester British military personnel of the Umbeyla Campaign 19th-century British Army personnel Burials in Surrey