An Honourable Soldier

Irishman William Butler spent forty-seven years as a soldier in the British Army in the Victorian days and distinguished himself as a humane and gallant officer. His story resonates with the difficulties confronting soldiers in our time, engaged in military conflicts. He despised the way in which the military were manipulated by politicians and bankers in order to further their private interests. His appetite for adventure began with campaigns in Burma and Canadian Northwest. Then he travelled to West Africa, and Egypt where his experience in working with Native American Indians served him as commander of troop transportation up the River Nile. He saw action in Sudan and South Africa and, as a prolific author, wrote many graphic accounts of his deeds. As High Commissioner and Officer Commanding South Africa he advised against Britain’s plans to wage war in South Africa and, rather than be complicit by taking further orders, resigned from the army.