Description

George Butterworth, a close friend of Vaughan Williams, composed some of the most enchanting and acclaimed English music of his time. He was killed during the battle of the Somme as dawn broke on the 5th August, 1916. Owing to the severity of the fighting his body was buried where he lay, the site marked by a simple wooden cross never to be rediscovered. Consequently his name occurs among the 73,357 listed on the Thiepval ‘Memorial to the Missing’. For his actions during the last few weeks of his life, George was awarded two Military Crosses and put forward for a third. In 1918 his father, Alexander Kaye Butterworth, privately published a ‘Memorial Volume’ for family and friends, of which only a handful of copies are known to have survived. It consists of a collection of tributes and letters of appreciation (including a moving contribution from Vaughan Williams) that he had received, alongside reviews of George’s music and concerts. The main part, however, consists of George’s own ‘War Diary and Letters’ – a document of historic importance publicly available here for the very first time. This anniversary edition has been produced to mark the centenary of George Butterworth’s death and as a tribute to all of those whose place of rest remains unknown. For them, his ‘Banks of Green Willow’ has become an unofficial anthem.