A SPECIAL remembrance Sunday event was held in Berkeley this year – including the unveiling and blessing of a commemorative stone installed to honour a soldier who earned the Victoria Cross.

After an afternoon church service the procession marched down to Market Place to view the commemorative stone, which remembered Berkeley-born soldier Captain John Fitzhardinge Paul Butler, of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps.

The event was attended by a range of dignitaries and services groups.

The remembrance service was held in St Mary’s Church at 2.30pm on Sunday, November 9.

Berkeley Town Cllr Mike Studden said: “It was absolutely amazing. The church holds 400 and it was completely packed, with many forced to stand.

“If you think about the size of Berkeley it means it’s really a substantial part of the community that attended.”

Cllr Studden noted one especially moving moment took place when the list of 120 names from the memorial inside the church was read out.

“The service included the list of names from the memorial being read out and local youth organisations played a part.

“As each name was read children dropped poppy petals for the soldier. It was especially poignant and the affect it had on people was visible”

After the service the procession headed to the unveiling of the new memorial stone, remembering Captain Butler.

He earned the Victoria Cross for bravery in the Cameroons, West Africa, during the First World War.

A notice in the London Gazette from August 23, 1915, details the reasons behind the award.

It reads: “On November 17, 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 several loads of ammunition.

“On 27th December 1914, when on patrol duty, with a few men, he swam the Ekam River, 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.”

Unfortunately Capt Butler was killed before the end of the war. The commemorative stone will remain a fixture in the town and play a role in subsequent remembrance events.