Frederick Butcher (1897 - 1916)

Born 12 Sep 1897 in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Died 31 May 1916 at age 18 in At Sea

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Biography

Frederick Butcher was Killed in Action on 31 May 1916 aboard HMS Black Prince at the Battle of Jutland during World War I.

Frederick was born on 12 Sep 1897 in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England.^[1][2] He was the fourth son of Benjamin Butcher and Annie Long. He was probably named after his uncle, Frederick Butcher.

On 31 Mar 1901 he was living with his parents at 33 Rutland Cr (at Dursley Rd) in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England. His father's occupation was Carpenter.^[3]

On 2 Apr 1911 Frederick was living with his parents at 111 Lower Hudley in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England. His occupation was Meat Shop Errand Boy.^[4]

Later Frederick worked in the local textile industry as a Mattress Maker. On 24 Feb 1913 at the age of 15 he joined the Royal Navy with a rating of Boy 2nd Class. His first ship was H.M.S. Impregnable. On 7 Oct 1913 he was promoted to Boy 1st Class and assigned to H.M.S. Theseus (in the Queenstown Training Squadron) and then to H.M.S. Victory for one month (the museum ship in dry dock at Portsmouth?).^[1]

On 21 Apr 1914 Frederick was assigned to H.M.S. Black Prince, an armoured cruiser.^[1] When war was declared Black Prince was serving in the Mediterranean Fleet. In December 1914 she joined the Grand Fleet, 1st Cruiser Squadron.

Frederick was promoted to Ordinary Seaman on 13 Mar 1915, at age 17. His period of engagement officially began when he turned 18 on 12 Sep 1915.^[1]

On 31 May 1916 Black Prince participated in the Battle of Jutland in the North Sea off the western coast of Denmark. Separated from the British line in the dark, Black Prince stumbled into the German line and upon discovery was bombarded with point-blank gunfire. Within 15 minutes Black Prince blew up and sank, and all 857 hands (officers and men) were lost.^{[5] [6]} Frederick is commemorated at the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} "UK, Royal Navy Registers of Seamen's Services, 1848-1939," database, Ancestry.com (https://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=60522 : accessed 26 May 2018), Frederick Butcher, b. 12 Sep 1897, Service No. J23292; citing The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey, England.
2. ↑ "GRO Online Index - Births," database, UK General Register Office (https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/indexes_search.asp : accessed 26 May 2018), Frederick Butcher, Oct-Dec 1897, Melksham Vol 5a Pg 108. Mother's maiden surname: Long.
3. ↑ 1901 Census [add citation].
4. ↑ 1911 Census [add citation].
5. ↑ Commonwealth War Graves Commission, "Casualties of WWI," database, Commonwealth War Graves Commission (http://www.cwgc.org/ : accessed 25 May 2018), Frederick Butcher, 31 May 1916, HMS Black Prince.
6. ↑ ;The Battle of Jutland Crew Lists Project; https://battleofjutlandcrewlists.miraheze.org/wiki/HMS_Black_Prince_Crew_List