Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

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

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

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 Battalio ...

on 23 February 1915 during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. 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 primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

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 decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

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

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

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

Gothic Line The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German Defense line, defensive line of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Generalfeldmarschall, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's la ...

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 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