Frank Buttle, the Founder of the Trust which bears his name, was a man of great vision and determination and a very colourful character.Having first trained as a solicitor, his real ambition was to become a clergyman, and he went first to the University of Durham and then to Downing College, Cambridge. He was ordained in 1906 and was vicar of St Chad’s, Haggerston, from 1937 to 1953, when he died.
"People who do not know the Reverend William Francis Buttle feel sorry for him as he trundles his ancient bicycle through London’s East End or shuffles along the grey streets in shoes several sizes too big for him and clothes from which the linings hang in ribbons.
They do not know that he has amassed a fortune of £700,000, that he dreams of making a million, and that he will never touch a penny of it for himself. Canon Buttle, at 72, is the Church of England’s most fantastic Parson – solicitor, real estate operator and shrewd share speculator – a legendary figure who some call a saint, and some a miser. In 30 years he has built up two fabulous trusts which he claims will one day educate, maintain and send out to life 1,000 children a year who are either illegitimate or from broken homes."
Frank
Buttle was perhaps the first person to challenge the abuses of baby farming –
the taking in of infants to nurse for payment – and to offer the very practical
alternative of adoption.
On the outbreak of war in August 1914, Frank Buttle determined to devote himself to child welfare work, especially in connection with children rendered homeless and orphaned through the war. He formed the National Adoption Society, and by 1930, 3,000 adoptions had been arranged and a home for unmarried mothers was established in Surrey.
A complete ascetic and financial genius, he set about raising £1 million to establish the Trust, and when he died in 1953, he was only £80,000 short of his objective. Later that year, the full amount was raised and the two Trusts he had originally established were amalgamated and became operational. The Trust now helps thousands of children, young people and families annually.