10th Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers (British Army)
Date Of Birth:
08/05/1896
Died:
24/04/1917 (Died of Wounds)
Age:
20
Summary
William Percy Butler was the eldest son of William John and Georgina Butler. He was born in Moy, County Tyrone on 8th May 1896. He was one of three children. His father was an assistant librarian at Trinity College, Dublin. By 1901 the family had moved to Dun Laoghaire. After he left school, William was employed as a Clerk in the Dublin branch of the Bank of Ireland. He enlisted on 19th February 1916. He served during the Rising in Dublin He was sent with the Expeditionary Force to France and Flanders in August 1916. Lance Corporal William Percy Butler died on 24th April 1917 from wounds received in action at Gavrelle, France.
Further Information
William Percy Butler was the eldest son of William John and Georgina Butler. William Butler and Georgina Elliott were married on 15th July 1891 in the district of Dungannon.
William Percy Butler was born in Moy, County Tyrone on 8th May 1896. He was one of three children.
Family: William John Butler Georgina Butler, Meta Letitia Mary Butler (born 30th May 1892, Benburb), William Percy Butler (born 8th May 1896, Benburb), Robert O'Neill Butler (born about 1899, Dun Laoghaire).
The 1901 census lists William Percy as age 4, living with the family at house 1 in Royal Terrace East, Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire). His father’s occupation is give as ‘Clerk in Library T.C.D. M.A.T.C.D.’ William John Butler was an assistant librarian at Trinity College, Dublin.
The 1911 census shows the family living at house 36 in York Road, Dun Laoghaire. William Percy was 14 years old and still at school.
William Butler was educated at Corrig School in Dun Laoghaire.
William was employed as a Clerk in the Dublin branch of the Bank of Ireland.
William P Butler enlisted on 19th February 1916.
Lance Corporal Butler served during the Rising in Dublin He was sent with the Expeditionary Force to France and Flanders in August 1916.
His lieutenant reported: “A portion of a shell struck your son on 23 April, while he was in charge of a Lewis gun in the trenches, the piece entering the back of the right shoulder apparently injuring the lung. He was conscious to the time of leaving the trenches, and did not admit suffering excessive pain. Your son was a thoroughly reliable soldier, in whom his officers had every confidence, and his loss is much felt by his comrades in the battalion, amongst whom he was so popular."
Lance Corporal William Percy Butler died at No. 19 Casualty Clearing Station on 24th April 1917 from wounds received in action at Gavrelle, France. He was just two weeks short of his 21st birthday.
Lance Corporal William Percy Butler is buried in Duisans British Cemetery in France. His inscription reads FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH.
William Percy Butler is commemorated on the World War I Memorial Plaque in Christ Church of Ireland in Dun Laoghaire.
William Percy Butler is also commemorated on the two Bank of Ireland World War I Memorial Plaques in College Green, Dublin.
Lance Corporal William Percy Butler is also commemorated on the family headstone at Deansgrange Cemetery, Blackrock, County Dublin.
The CWGC records Lance Corporal Butler as the son of William John Butler, M.A., T.C.D., and Georgina Butler, of 36 York Road, Kingstown, County Dublin.
