John Fitzhardinge Paul Butler VC DSO (20 December 1888 – 5 September 1916) was a British Army Officer during the First World War, and English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was 25 years old, and a Lieutenant in The King's Royal Rifle Corps, attached to Pioneer Coy., Gold Coast Regiment, West African Frontier Force, and was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on 17 November 1914 in the Cameroons, Nigeria. Citation: For most conspicuous bravery in the Cameroons, West Africa. On 17th November, 1914, with a party of 13 men, he went into the thick bush and at once attacked the enemy, in strength about 100, including several Europeans, defeated them, and captured their machine gun and many loads of ammunition. On 27th December, 1914, when on patrol duty, with a few men, he swam the Ekam River, which was held by the enemy, alone and in the face of a brisk fire, completed his reconnaissance on the further bank, and returned in safety. Two of his men were wounded while he was actually in the water —The London Gazette, 23 August 1915 He later achieved the rank of Captain but was unfortunately killed in action at Motomba on 5 September The attached account of his actions was written by James Price Lloyd of the Welsh Regiment, who served with Military Intelligence. After the war, the government to destroyed all the archives relating to this propaganda (section MI 7b (1)). They were regarded as being too sensitive to risk being made public. Remarkably these documents have survived in the personal records of Captain Lloyd. Many of these papers are officially stamped, and one can trace the development of many individual articles from the notes based on an idea, to the pencil draft which is then followed by the hand-written submission and the typescript. The archive Tales of the VC comprises 94 individual accounts of the heroism that earned the highest award for valour, the Victoria Cross. These are recounted deferentially and economically, yet they still manage to move the reader. Date stamp: 2 March 1918. || Article with annotations.

Héritage familial : Ces objets ou documents ont été retrouvés dans une armoire. La ferme du grand-père a été détruite (bombardée) en 1914 puis reconstruite à l'identique ensuite. - Encrier dans une tête d'obus. - Plateau avec 4 gobelets martelés (dont un gobelet avec couvercle type sucrier). - Avion réalisé avec une douille de balle. - Coupe papier avec une inscription Angelain 19-11. || Gustave Herman était agriculteur à Saint- Nicolas (Pas-de-Calais). Il était le Grand-père maternel. Il est mobilisé au 33ème RI en août 1944. Il est blessé à Dinan (côte d'armor), de retour au 33ème RI. Il est prisonnier à Verdun (Meuse) en février 1916. Il est rattaché à la classe 1925.

Documents recueillis auprès de Marc Serra, dans le cadre de la collecte du 16 novembre 2013, concernant Gustave Herman, son grand-père maternel. Gustave Herman était agriculteur à Saint-Nicolas. M. Serra a eu l'occasion de discuter des événements de guerre avec Gustave Herman et a même réalisé un enregistrement oral de leurs conversations sur le sujet. Gustave Herman a été mobilisé au 33e régiment d'infanterie à la déclaration de la guerre. Blessé à Dinant, puis prisonnier à Verdun en 1916. || - Encrier dans une tête d'obus. - Plateau avec quatre gobelets martelés. - Avion réalisé avec une douille de balle. - Coupe papier.