PP/MCR/107; The collection consists of those chapters from the typescript memoirs,...

Chapter entitled "The Boer War 1899-1901" 67 pp.

Stephen Butler, a 19 year old 2/Lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, sailed for South Africa with his Battalion in November 1899. On their arrival, they were ordered to join the 18th Brigade, 6th Division, and their active service during the war took the pattern of a series of long marches punctuated by occasional sharp engagements. In his account, which includes lengthy extracts from his letters home, Butler describes in detail the aftermath of the fighting at Paardeburg, the Battalion's arrival at Bloemfontein and their subsequent march from that city to Pretoria, which was made in face of stiff Boer resistance. From the summer of 1900 to the summer of 1901, the Battalion were stationed in the Komati Valley, where the Boers were quite active and outpost duties took up much of Butler's time. During the fever season the Komati Valley was not a healthy spot, and Butler contracted both Malaria and typhoid, the latter illness preventing him from sailing with his Regiment to Bermuda at the end of their tour of duty in South Africa. By this time he records that disease had reduced the 2nd Royal Warwicks to "a very sorry shadow of its former self, but a well disciplined body of men, loyal and proud of the name of the regiment."

Chapter entitled "Anzac 1915-1916" 31 pp.

Almost immediately after his arrival at Gallipoli on 7 May 1915, Major Butler was placed in command of the Intelligence Section at GHQ Anzac. His service there was to leave him full of admiration both for the Anzac commander, General Birdwood (pp.7-9), and for the troops under his command - "... it was your fault, if you didn't find them the most loyal and pleasant friends and comrades" (p.3). Like everyone else at Anzac, Butler lived in a small sandbag dugout, which provided the only, if very inadequate, protection from Turkish fire available on the beachhead. Any movement put a man's life at risk and Butler notes that even bathing, the sole possible recreation, was not without its dangers. Butler's account includes a detailed description of the at Anzac in May, which he helped to organize in order to bury the large numbers of dead (pp. 9-13). In December Butler was transferred from Anzac to the island of Imbros where Birdwood, now Commander-in-Chief of all troops on Gallipoli, had his GHQ and it was from there that he made the preparations for the evacuation of Anzac and Suvla (pp.22-25, 27-28). In a letter home and in his narrative, Butler communicates well the tense atmosphere on the night of the evacuation, and he is also at pains to give the evidence refuting the allegation that its total success was a "put-up" job (p.25). He describes, too, the final evacuation from Helles in January 1916 (pp.25-26, 31).

Appended to the narrative are a number of very interesting documents relating to the Anzac truce and the evacuations, including a copy of General Monro's letter to the Turkish C-in-C about medical facilities for the wounded, which was to have been delivered if the evacuation had been detected and stopped.

Chapter entitled "France 1916-1918." 38 pp.

In 1916 Butler proceeded to France with the Anzac Corps as their GSO 2 (Intelligence) and they were soon involved in the Somme offensive, taking part in the capture of Pozieres and Moquet Farm. Once again, Butler emphasizes the excellent fighting qualities of the Anzac troops, both on the Somme and at Third Ypres a year later. "They were magnificent in all these murderous encounters with the Hun, and once gained, never lost a position." In early 1918 Lieutenant-Colonel Butler was transferred to 5th Army as their GSO 1 (intelligence) and the memoirs give his assessment of the controversial Army Commander, General Sir Hubert Gough. "... A generous, quick witted Irishman. A great sportsman and horseman and a gallant gentleman. Loyal to his friends and as straight as a die." As 5th Army were expecting the Germans to launch a major offensive, Butler's intelligence duties kept him very occupied, but he was able to warn Gough of the likely strength of the coming attack.

A week or so before 21 March 1918 Butler was appointed Deputy Chief of Intelligence at Army GHQ, and he describes in some detail the Branch's many and varied activities, including the organization of espionage behind the German lines. From GHQ Butler was able to chart the progress of the enemy's spring offensive, and the two extracts below from his letters home during these critical weeks suggest an optimism in strong contrast to the feelings of most regimental officers in France.

... if he (Germany) fails, and he will fail, then it is for us the greatest victory ... (23 March 1918)

... all our men have their tails right up and they feel they have proved themselves infinitely the better men ... (8 April 1918)

As General Cox was away on sick leave, Butler found himself acting Chief of Intelligence during the first days of the Allied offensive in August, and he records the significant element of surprise which they were able to achieve. At GHQ Butler was for the first time in close contact with Sir Douglas Haig, and it would seem that he came under the Commander-in-Chief's spell. As well as noting Haig's capacity to absorb enormous quantities of military detail, he considered him "easy and friendly" and "very thoughtful for others", and a commander with an "implicit trust and confidence in the British soldier."

Chapter entitled "I Join the Royal Navy 1919-1920". 29 pp.

In June 1919 Colonel Butler was appointed GSO 1, Naval Intelligence, at Constantinople under Rear-Admiral Sir Michael Culme-Seymour as the Royal Navy "wanted someone who had experience of running 'I' on land." He was responsible for collecting and collating intelligence about all events of significance in Asia Minor, Eastern Europe and Russia, his main sources of information being reports from officers of the other Allied powers, HM Ships and political agents. His account includes interesting notes on some of the prominent White Russians whom he met, both during official missions to Russia and as refugees in Constantinople. In early 1920 Butler was sent to the Perekap Isthmus to see what aid the Allies could usefully give to the White Russians in the Crimea, and he was far from impressed by what he saw. The garrison commander at Sevastopol was inept and "everywhere were signs of incompetence and lack of organization", while the Commander-in-Chief of the forces in the field "knew less than nothing about Staff work, the art of war, or organization" and was continually surrounded by lady camp followers. In his report, Butler concluded that nothing short of a miracle could save the Crimea from falling into Bolshevik hands.

Chapter entitled "Second World War 1939-1945" 38pp.

In this rather disjointed and hurriedly written chapter, Major-General Butler describes his experiences in the three appointments which he held between August 1939 and June 1941. On the outbreak of war, he was appointed Head of the British Military Mission to Turkey, but in the event he was never able to take up this post, as Turkey felt that the presence of a Military Mission would have prejudiced her neutrality, and he was recalled in January 1940. He spent most of these months in Egypt, giving lectures on intelligence, but he also attended a long conference with General Weygand, and discusses the agenda in detail. In December 1939 he was allowed to go to Turkey in plain clothes, and had a meeting with the Turkish Army Chief of Staff as a result of which Britain probably later obtained "... certain facilities and privileges that we should not have had otherwise." In August 1940 he was appointed Liaison Officer between Army HQ, West Africa, and the West African Frontier Force in the field in East Africa, but his record of this consists mainly of very brief references to the various senior officers whom he met. His next appointment, in March 1941, was a Liaison Officer between General Wavell in Egypt and General Smuts in South Africa, and he sets down his impressions of both men, as well as valuable information about the subjects which they discussed with him. Butler had a high regard for both men, perhaps particularly for Smuts.