William Francis Butler

Lieutenant General Sir William Francis Butler, GCB, FRGS, PC (Ire.)

Born into an upper middle-class Roman Catholic family in Suirville, County Tipperary, Ireland, he was educated by the Jesuits and commissioned an Ensign (2nd Lieutenant) in the 69th Regiment of Foot. He had a long and distinguished career in the British Army, which at the time was unusual for a Catholic Irishman. He was also an explorer, appointed an Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to Queen Victoria, appointed a Member of the Irish Privy Council (PC), a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS), invested a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB), a member of the senate of the National University of Ireland, a commissioner of the Board of National Education, supporter of Home Rule for Ireland, and a frequent lecturer. He was a veteran of many British campaigns in the second half of the 19th century including the Red River Expedition (Canada), the Ashanti War (South Africa), the Anglo-Zulu War (South Africa), and the Nile Expedition (Egypt and the Sudan). He was the husband of the artist Elizabeth Southerden Butler (née Thompson), also known as Lady Butler. His books are noted for their diversity: biographies, history, memoirs of his experiences exploring western Canada, travel literature, recollections of Victorian military campaigns in which he participated, and finally his own autobiography.