Black Watch friends:

Have learned that Tony Butcher passed away late last year in the Western Cape of South Africa.

A.G. (Tony) Butcher came to The Black Watch of Canada in 1965 from South Africa via the British Army (Devonshire and Dorset Regiment). He joined 2nd Battalion RHC in Germany and returned to Gagetown with the unit that summer and then accompanied it to Cyprus the next spring as a platoon commander in ‘C’ Company. Later, back in Gagetown, he commanded Mortar Platoon before being SOS 2RHC to CJATC Rivers, MB in 1969.

In Rivers Tony met Cathy, a local French school teacher from Tecumseh, Ontario. They married in 1970 and eventually raised five children.

Believe he spent some time back in Gagetown, probably at CTC/CAS, over the next few years.

In 1974 Tony was posted to 3RHC as the unit’s RSS officer and remained there for three years. During his tour at Bleury Street, today’s Regimental Secretary, Lt-Col Bill Sewell, commanded The Regiment.

After his tour with 3RHC, Tony was posted to 433 Tac Fighter Sqn in Bagotville as unit intelligence officer. From there believe he was posted to Windsor, Ontario, (which isn’t far from Tecumseh) but not sure of his appointment there.
He retired circa 1982 and took his family with him back to South Africa. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in the early 1990s.

The following is a summary of a recent note from his children:
________________________________________
In 2014 my parents moved into a comfortable nursing home up the road from their house as my father's affliction , (advanced stages of Parkinson's Disease and early onset of dementia), was becoming too difficult for my mother to look after him .
They were happily settled in their flat when in 2016 my mother (a diabetic) was "struck down" with two bad doses of MRSA and broke her hip . - 2016 was a year that will go down in infamy for her / us (her kids) . We almost lost my Mom who nearly abandoned the will to live and after many phone calls from her sisters in Canada she managed to pull through.
The results of all the medical treatments and diabetic complications is that my mother is wheelchair bound, to some extent bedridden and blind.
My father remained in reasonable shape thanks to my Mom keeping him going and nagging him to do the right things. - However last year saw the steady decline of my father, too heart wrenching to describe.
About May / June last year "Pops" was moved to the sick bay where close by he had his own room. About September / October he was moved to the Alzheimer's "Wing”. Throughout this time "Pops" had a lingering chest infection that with intermittent treatment he was unable to shake.
The end of October '17 when my Dad lost virtually all coordination we began to anticipate the "inevitable”. We all mobilized to sit by his bedside for a few hours as often (for a period of about three weeks) as we could get out of the city to Bredasdorp. .
There is no easy way to say this but on 19th November '17 at about 0515 my father passed away peacefully as a result of pneumonia. Where he is now there is no pain.....
"Pops” was cremated in December and we scattered his ashes in a farmers field outside the town on the 05th February. - We scattered him there as he always wanted to be a farmer.


With thanks to Dave Harris for most of the foregoing.



R. I. P.
NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT