Sunday WW1 Remembered...

Composers of the Great War

George Butterworth

1885 - 1916

George Butterworth joined the British Army as a private in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry but later accepted a commission as a subaltern in the 13th Battalion Durham Light Infantry where he was promoted to temporary Lieutenant. He was awarded the Military Cross in August 1916 but did not live to receive it. He was shot by a sniper in the Battle of the Somme and his body hastily buried where he fell, at the side of the trench. Tragically, his body was never recovered, however, his name is inscribed on Thiepval Memorial.

Butterworth's music dates between 1910-1913 with this, The Banks of Green Willow, perhaps his most poignant work , which was composed in 1913.

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