Captain William Charles Butler (17 January 1844 – 6 December 1914) played football for England against a Scottish XI in two unofficial internationals in 1870 and 1871. He subsequently became a J.P. and Registrar in Cumberland.

Family

Butler was the son of Captain Charles George Butler R.N. (1793–1867) and Emily Bayford. His paternal grandfather was

Sir Richard Butler, 7th Baronet Sir Richard Butler, 7th Baronet (14 July 1761 – 16 January 1817) was an Anglo-Irish politician. He was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Butler, 6th Baronet and his wife Dorothea Bayly, daughter of Very Rev. Edward Bayly, Archdeacon of Dublin. In ...

of Cloughgrenan, descending from James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond and 2nd Earl of Ossory, through his second son,

Sir Edmund Butler of Cloughgrenan Sir Edmund Butler (1534 – c. 1585) of Cloughgrenan (and the Dullough), was an Irish noble and the second son of James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond and Lady Joan Fitzgerald. He was a scion of the House of Ormond, and a rebel against the Tudors. ...

(1534–c.1585). This Cloughgrenan line survives to the present day through James Richard Henry Ormonde Brooke (b. 1972), William's great-great-grandson. James Richard is the son of Penelope Eve Butler (b. 1942) and

Irish Guards ("Who Shall Separate s") , colors = , identification_symbol_2 Saffron (pipes), identification_symbol_2_label = Tartan , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = Tactical Recognition F ...

Lt.-Col. Thomas Christopher Peter Brooke (1938–2020), 1st cousin once removed of Bernard Jocelyn Brooke, author and naturalist. In July 1877, William Charles Butler married Emily Chadwick; they had six children – three daughters and three sons. The sons were: * Henry Beauchamp Butler (1878–1952) who was educated at Charterhouse School and became a solicitor. He later joined the Colonial Service in Nigeria and took part in the Egba Expedition in 1918.
Lt.-Col.Charles Walter Butler OBE
(1880–1941) who was also educated at Charterhouse. He became a soldier in the Suffolk Regiment, fighting in the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

between 1899 and 1900, in 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 ...

, where he was mentioned in despatches twice, and in the Afghan War in 1919. He gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the service of the Indian Army and was invested with the O.B.E. in 1920. * William Bayford Butler (1888–1937) who, like his brothers, was educated at Charterhouse and also fought in the First World War with the 3rd Battalion, Border Regiment. He reached the rank of Captain and was decorated with the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

Football career

Butler was a member of the Barnes and Civil Service football clubs. In March 1870, he was invited by the Wanderers' captain,

C.W. Alcock Charles William Alcock (2 December 1842 – 26 February 1907) was an English sportsman, administrator, author and editor. He was a major instigator in the development of both international football and cricket, as well as being the creator of ...

to take part in a match between "England" and "Scotland". This was the first of five "pseudo-internationals" which took place before the first officially recognized international in November 1872. He was the only member of the England XI who was not a member of the Wanderers club. His second appearance for England came in February 1871; the match report included an early reference to the

Combination Game The Combination Game was a style of association football based around teamwork and cooperation. It would gradually favour the passing of the ball between players over individual dribbling skills which had been a notable feature of early Associati ...

style of football:

It seemed as if the cottishdefence would prove more than equal to the attack, until a well-executed run-down by C.W. Alcock, W.C. Butler and R.S.F. Walker, acting in concert, enabled the last-named of the trio to equalise the score by the accomplishment of a well-merited goal for England.

Later career

Butler was enlisted in the Third Battalion,

The Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service in ...

where in 1884 he reached the rank of Captain. He was later a Justice of the peace (J.P.) for Cumberland and held the office of Registrar of the Probate Division of the High Court of Justice.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, William 1844 births 1914 deaths English men's footballers England men's representative footballers (1870–1872) Border Regiment officers Barnes Football Club players Civil Service F.C. players Men's association football players not categorized by position Place of birth missing