Sir, - Kevin Myers's references to Maj Gen William Francis Butler and his painter and wife, Elizabeth (October 31st), revived the memory of a remarkable couple. He may have been the first Catholic major general ever in the British Army. He had great energy and initiative. She was a splendid military painter.
His book, The Light of the West, reads rather floridly now, but it sold widely when first published. It has good essays on General "Chinese" Gordon, on "Clan and Boat Crew" (his contrast between the Irish and the Normans) and on County Clare. His thoughts on a hill in Belgium, overlooking battlefields where Irish soldiers had fought, must have been novel at the time. I have not read it ford many years, but it has some timeless lessons. A biography, Remember Butler was written by a Canadian (I think) about 20 years ago. It described his boyhood in Tipperary and his explorations by canoe in the wilds of Canada. Butler wanted the British Army to prepare for a long Boer War. This, and his rather over the top phrasing when he sat on the subsequent enquiry, did not endear him to the Establishment.
There was an exhibition of his wife's fine paintings in the military museum in Chelsea in recent years. She was an interesting woman in her own right.
Yours, etc.,
Tower Road,
Clondalkin,
Dublin 22.