Lieutenant Eric H D Butler

Lieutenant Eric Henry Dunn Butler was born in Burton upon Trent on the 17 August 1918, and was schooled at the Broadway Central School, Burton upon Trent. This profile was created with information sourced from the limited discussions Eric’s son Paul had with his father and also his service records that were received from the MoD Archives.

This information was augmented by a recently re-discovered notebook Eric wrote whilst in captivity after the Battle of Arnhem. This filled in a lot of gaps in his service history.

Service Numbers - 5048390 (Private), 292938 (Commissioned) and 503358 (RAF Regiment). 

Nov 1934 - Army Recruitment – Eric joined the North Staffordshire Regiment, as a signaller.

He performed and completed his 15-16 weeks basic training. He then he travelled to Northern Ireland in Apr 1934 to join the 2nd Battalion N Staffs for more detailed training.

Nov 1935 – the 2nd Battalion left for Aldershot. Before leaving, Eric was posted to the Signals Section. He qualified in the Signals around June 1936.

Palestine - From Sept 1936 to Jan 1938 the battalion was posted to Palestine to police the Arab uprising that had been going on for some time.

‘In 1920, Britain assumed responsibility for Palestine under a League of Nations Mandate. During the next two decades, over 100,000 Jews entered the country. The British Army's operations in Palestine during this period were mainly directed against militant Arab groups who were opposed to this mass Jewish immigration.’

Violence reached a height with the Arab Revolt of 1936-39.  It would seem that Eric was in Palestine at the height of the Arab Revolution.

Sept 1937 – The battalion moved to Sarafand-al-Amar camp (midway between Jerusalem and Jaffa)

Dec 1937 – The battalion was called out to action at lake Tiberias (today called Sea of Galilee) along with the Border Regt.

Jan 1938 - The battalion sailed for England from Haifa on the SS California.  Arrived Southampton - returned to the battalion barracks in Aldershot the next day

July-August 1940 – Eric was promoted to Corporal into 3 Company, ITC (Infantry Training Centre) - He applied shortly afterwards for posting to Special Service.

Dec 1940 - Joined No 3 Commandos in Largs Ayrshire Scotland. Posted to No1 Troop.

Little of the training is documented in Eric’s memoir, but the Army Commando training is well documented elsewhere.

“Commando recruits were trained at special centres in Scotland. They learnt physical fitness, survival, orienteering, close-quarter combat, silent killing, signalling, amphibious and cliff assault, vehicle operation, the handling of different weapons and demolition skills. Any man who failed to live up to the toughest requirements would be 'returned to unit' (RTU).”

Whilst the main Commando Training Centre at Achnacarry near Spean Bridge was established in 1942. It seems that there was an earlier training centre near Largs where Eric was from December 1940.

Mar 1941 - Eric took part in Operation Claymore – the raid on the Lofoton Islands in Norway, consisting of 250 officers and men from No. 3 Commando. This was the first large-scale Commando raid, which was launched on four ports in the Lofoten Islands in Norway. The raid, proved to be a considerable success, resulting in the capture of a number of wheels of the German Enigma encoding machine which helped the Allies to decode German radio traffic later in the war, as well as the destruction of a considerable amount of petrol and oil and the capture of several hundred Germans.

As Eric described:

“Destroyed fish oil factory with No4 Commando- ashore about 5-6 hours. The fish factory created a large amount of glycerine which the Germans used for explosive manufacture.”

Dec 1941 – Eric took part in the first Combined Ops Raid of the war in another raid on Norway, this time on the port of Vaagso and the island of Maaloy  known as Operation Archery. 

Eric’s notes –

“No 3 commandos raided Vaagso, Norway. By this time promoted to Lance Sergeant and still in 1 troop under Bill Etche.

Commando had 20 killed and 50 wounded. We were ashore for about 7-8 hours did great damage to fish factory installation and buildings.

Sailed in Prince Charles (converted from a cross channel boat) and returned to Largs.”

Mar 1942 - Operation Chariot - The Raid on St Nazaire

Much has been written about this raid. It is often called “The Greatest Raid”.

The St Nazaire Raid or Operation Chariot was a British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German-occupied France during the Second World War. The operation was undertaken by the Royal Navy (RN) and British Commandos under the auspices of Combined Operations Headquarters on 28 March 1942. St Nazaire was targeted because the loss of its dry dock would force any large German warship in need of repairs, such as Tirpitz, sister ship of Bismarck, to return to home waters by running the gauntlet of the Home Fleet of the Royal Navy and other British forces, via the English Channel or the North Sea.

The obsolete destroyer HMS Campbeltown, accompanied by 18 smaller craft, crossed the English Channel to the Atlantic coast of France and was rammed into the Normandie dry dock south gate. The ship had been packed with delayed-action explosives, well hidden within a steel and concrete case, that detonated later that day, putting the dock out of service until 1948.

Of the 612 men who undertook the raid, 228 returned to Britain, 169 were killed and 215 became prisoners of war.

Eric was wounded in ML307 in the right leg and chest. Of the few that escaped the river, 3 MLs, including ML307, missed their rendevous and made their way in open water to England under their own steam. Luckily, Eric was one of the few who returned.

After 2 days in Atlantic Hospital in Truro, Cornwall, then Royal Cornwall infirmary Until July-Aug 1942, eric returned to Largs.

Whilst Eric was recovering, the majority of No 3 Commando shipped to N Africa and Italy with the 8th Army. Being ‘left behind’, he transferred to the South Staffordshire Regiment, and in Sept 1943, Eric was commissioned as Lieutenant. He was then assigned to the 1st Artillery Brigade, 1st Airborne Division ready for the second front.

Much training leading up to Sept 1944.

Sept 1944 – Arnhem – Operation Market Garden. Eric was Commander of No1 Anti-Tank Platoon.

Eric’s platoon was deep in the action, and the final retreat to the churchyard at Oosterbeek was where he was wounded again and finally captured.

Eric spent the last 9 months of the war in Oflag 9A, Spangenberg - a classic German Castle on a hill. On arriving at Spangenberg, he met many of his comrades who had been there since Mar 1944 having been captured at St Nazaire.

Post-war Service:

On final return to England, Eric spent a few years in ‘civvies’ but soon the lure of service was too much, and he joined the RAF as a Flight-Lieutenant in the RAF Regiment.

He joined the RAF Regiment in 1953, and as part of a tour to Singapore (1956-58), he spent 6 months with 94 Squadron RAF Regiment, deployed to the Malayan Jungle (Slim River) opposing Communist Insurgents.

Eric finally retired back to the Isle of Wight where he had originally met his wife (my mother), Olga, during the war.

During his retirement, he had gone to evening classes and received his 'skippers ticket', and used this over a number of years doing motor boat and yacht deliveries and charters around the Med and beyond.

To his thinking, this was his service in the 'Navy' and so had served in all 3 services.

When he passed in 1994, at his request, his sons placed half his ashes with our mother on the Isle of Wight, and the other half with his fallen comrades in the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery at Oosterbeek just outside Arnhem.