Butterton in the Peak, Staffordshire: Where Everyone Returned Home

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World War One saw around a million lives lost during the conflict, leaving almost the entire country affected. Reportedly 13.6% of army, navy and RAF officers died and 11.5% of other ranks (one in eight fatality rate approximately). However, a tiny handful of settlements saw all those who served return home alive. They became known as “Thankful Villages”, an unofficial term coined in the 1930s. Up until recently it was thought there were none in Staffordshire – until local residents set out to prove otherwise. Led by local historian Maggie Risby, research was carried out to prove two soldiers who had died were not Butterton men – and that all 15 of the men called up from the village had returned home. One of the clues that Butterton was a “Thankful Village” came from the village not having a war memorial. Unconnected to the research, it was decided in recent years that Butterton would have some visible symbol of Remembrance and now, set into the church wall in the village, is a stone poppy. Location: St. Bartholomew’s Church, Butterton In The Peak, Staffordshire ST13 7SP Image: Soldiers called up from Butterton village during WW1, courtesy of Tom Morgan