Allegiance United Kingdom Battles and wars World War II | Died January 3, 1976 Name Mervyn Butler | |
 | ||
Born 1 July 1913 ( 1913-07-01 ) Battles/wars World War IIEOKA Campaign Commands held 2nd Infantry Division, Staff College, Camberley, I Corps | ||
General Sir Mervyn Andrew Haldane Butler (1 July 1913 – 3 January 1976) was a British Army officer and former Commander-in-Chief of Strategic Command of the British Army.
Army career
Mervyn Butler was educated at St Columba's College, Rathfarnham, Ireland and at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was commissioned into the South Lancashire Regiment in 1933. He transferred to the Parachute Regiment and served with distinction during World War II being awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Military Cross for his services. He transferred to the Suffolk Regiment in 1945.
Butler commanded 16 Independent Parachute Brigade from 1955 to 1957. During the Suez Crisis elements of the 16 Independent Parachute Brigade led by Butler and a contingent of the Royal Tank Regiment set off south along the canal bank on 6 November 1956 to capture Ismailia. Just before midnight Butler was ordered to stop on the hour, when a ceasefire would come into effect. This raised a difficulty. There were Egyptian forces ahead; the British column was in open desert with no defensible feature to hand. Butler compromised, advancing until 0:15 a.m. on 7 November 1956 to reach El Cap, where he sited the 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, with supporting detachments.
Butler was General Officer Commanding 2nd Division from 1962 to 1964.
In 1964 he was appointed Assistant Chief of Defence Studies (Joint Warfare) and then in 1966 went on to be Commandant of the Staff College, Camberley. From 1968 to 1970 he was General Officer Commanding 1 (British) Corps. He was General Officer Commanding the Army Strategic Command from 1970 to 1971 before going on to serve as Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies from 1972 to 1973. He was promoted to General in 1972.
He was also Colonel Commandant of the Parachute Regiment from 1967 to 1972.
He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1957, Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1964 New Year Honours, and knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1968.
On his death in 1976 he was buried in Aldershot Military Cemetery.