Reginald Edmund Compton Butterworth (16 August 1906 – 21 May 1940) was an English cricketer who played at first-class level for Oxford University and Middlesex.
Personal information | |
---|---|
Full name | Reginald Edmund Compton Butterworth |
Born | (1906-08-16)16 August 1906 Semarang, Dutch East Indies |
Died | 21 May 1940(1940-05-21) (aged 33) near Saint-Martin-au-Laërt, France |
Batting | Right-handed |
Bowling | Right-arm fast-medium |
Role | All-rounder |
Relations | John Butterworth (brother) |
Domestic team information | |
Years | Team |
1926–1927 | Oxford University |
1930–1939 | Marylebone Cricket Club |
1935–1937 | Middlesex |
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 2 February 2016 |
Butterworth was born in Semarang, Java (then part of the Dutch East Indies), and was educated at Harrow School before going on to Christ Church, Oxford.[1] He made his first-class debut for Oxford in May 1926.[2] Butterworth's maiden first-class century came the following season, when he made 101 against the Free Foresters.[3] He also scored 110 against Surrey a few games later, which was to be his highest first-class score.[4] Butterworth made his County Championship debut for Middlesex in 1935, against Warwickshire, and played two further seasons at the county. In 1937, he toured Ceylon and Malaya with a team organised by Sir Julien Cahn, which was his only overseas tour. Butterworth's final first-class appearance came in May 1939, when he played for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) against Yorkshire.[2]
In the Second World War, Butterworth enlisted with the Royal Air Force (RAF). In May 1940, while serving as an air gunner with the rank of pilot officer on a Westland Lysander captained by Flight Lieutenant Richard Graham as part No. 13 Squadron, Butterworth was shot down over Saint-Omer and crashed near Saint-Martin-au-Laërt, killing him and Graham. His older brother, John Compton Butterworth, who was also a first-class cricketer, was killed in action less than a year later.[5]