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Wales Online
Sport
Ben James

Eddie Butler's son reveals family's loss, pride and the new grandson he never got to meet

For little Edward Arlo Butler, the choice of name was something of a formality.

Some 87 days after his grandfather, Eddie Butler, sadly died in his sleep at the age of 65 during a walking expedition for charity in Peru, Edward Arlo arrived into the world sharing that famous name. The loss of Butler in September was felt far and wide, well beyond the constraints of the rugby world.

He was the bardic voice of the Six Nations, with his effortlessly poetic nature making him the go-to narrator for any montage - be it a lyrical summation of the Olympics to a perfectly-pitched tribute to the Queen. He was also a Wales captain, a Lion, a historian, a journalist, an author and a passionate supporter of Welsh independence - a man who for whom a word, be it written or spoken, was rarely wasted.

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And, to his family, he was a loving husband and father. For one of Eddie's six children, Jack, the birth of his son, Edward Arlo, serves as a lovely reminder of that.

"The choice of name is two-fold, actually," explains Jack. "It's actually a family name.

"I'm actually Edward as well. I'm Edward Jack, known as Jack. Dad was Edward Thomas, known as Edward. My great grandfather was Edwin, but my grandmother didn't like that name so dad was named Edward.

"So it's a family name and I was keen to keep that going. Especially after dad's news, it definitely had to be Edward. But like me, he'll be known by his middle name. So he's Edward Arlo.

"That's because, knowing what dad was like, he hated being the centre of attention and he'd have hated having Arlo named after him. So we thought we'd keep Edward in there as a nod to dad, but he'll be like his dad as well. Doctors and dentists, he'll be Edward Arlo, but he'll be Arlo to friends and family

"Dad gave everyone nicknames. My brother-in-law is Richard, but he called him Richo. My partner, Olivia, was Livo.

"Everyone had an 'o'. So when we were looking at names and saw Arlo, we thought that was perfect. Even though it's his full name, it's a bit of a nickname too and that's a nod to dad."

The birth of Arlo has seen plenty reach out to Jack and his partner Olivia, many of whom also reached out in September after the death of his dad. Jack admits it feels like Arlo has been a "part of our family forever".

"He's still waiting to meet his cousins and aunts and uncles, but hopefully he'll meet them soon," he added. "One of dad's greatest and proudest achievements, which he'd often say himself, is that he had six kids. We were always close but his death has brought us closer together.

"We're a tighter unit now. It's definitely brought us really close. We're looking forward to everyone celebrating having some time with him. This is that bit of good news that we were waiting for to finish off 2022."

When Jack first learned of his father's death, he flew straight out to Peru. It's not a decision he even remembers really making. His little sister, Nell, was already out there on the walk for Prostate Cymru with his dad.

Instinctively, Jack wanted to be there for her, but also went out to see if there was anything he could do in terms of repatriation. That was all largely taken care of by the time he'd arrived, though. "One of the small blessings in Peru is that a post-mortem has to be done within 48 hours," he said. "So by the time I'd landed, the post-mortem had taken place. Once they're happy with the findings, they can issue a death certificate which is effectively a ticket home. By the time I'd landed, that had all been done so it was a bit of a blessing that I didn't have to do too much on that side. I could focus on getting out to Nelly and making sure she was ok."

Thankfully, the people with Prostate Cymru had rallied around Nell and welcomed Jack into the fold with similar warmth. That's unsurprising, given Eddie Butler's love of helping the charity. "They always knew dad would say yes, no matter what," added Jack. "He loved being on an adventure and knowing he was doing something good for charity."

That welcome, and the sights of the Inca trail to Machu Picchu, helped provide some form of solace to Jack in the days after his father's death. "It was a long old flight, it was 12 hours out with a couple of stops in between.

"About halfway through the flight, I was sat on my own with my thoughts. I had no idea what I'd be going into. But when I got there and met up with Nelly and the rest of the group, they welcomed me into their sort of family and I found it very therapeutic in a way.

"There was a lot of dad out there as well. Dad was fluent in French and Spanish and he loved his Spanish history. The history of Peru has a very big Spanish influence. So anything Incan or Spanish language, he loved. I could sense him out there and I took comfort from that and what a great time he'd have had out there."

Eddie Butler with Jack as a child (WalesOnline/ Rob Browne)
Baby Edward Arlo Butler never got to meet his grandpa but his kindness and principles will certainly influence his life (Rob Browne)

Comfort has also been provided in the tributes paid to Eddie, from far and wide. Given he spent those immediate hours on a flight, it wasn't until he landed in Peru that the sheer outpouring of love for his dad washed over him.

"Being able to read all of those tributes and obituaries, I was completely blown away," he admits. "I remember speaking to my brother-in-law, Richo, about it. He lost his dad when he was 21 and he said one of his biggest regrets was he could no longer hear his dad's voice. It had been so long that he couldn't imagine what it sounded like anymore.

"The six of us will never have that problem because we're only two clicks away from finding a clip on YouTube or rewatching a tribute. We're so lucky we've got that. We take real comfort in that. If we're having a sad moment, we can just go on the internet and hear him. It was really tough, but there were so many positives that came out of it. Knowing how much of a good time he was having and the photos that were coming back, he looked amazing out there.

"Those tributes made us all realise how many lives he had touched. He had his links to rugby through playing and punditry, but he had the charity side of him. He was involved with YesCymru and the Welsh Independence movement later on. He'd connected with so many people across Wales and the UK, through his languages and going to university in Cambridge.

"It completely blew us away. Everyone had their own story about dad, which we love to hear. Dad was notoriously useless talking about himself. Growing up, me and my brothers would ask him about his playing days and he wouldn't open up that much to us. Speaking to his Pontypool and Wales contemporaries, there's so much we didn't know. It's amazing to find out these interesting things and we love hearing about it.

"He had a really inquisitive nature. He was always more interested in finding out about others than talking about himself. He had a thirst for learning so he was always very good company in that regard. He could put people at ease because he'd ask people about them, rather than being Eddie Butler, the rugby personality. He wouldn't talk about himself - it was the complete opposite."

Eddie Butler was a huge family man (Jack Butler)

Since September, time has proven a peculiar beast for Jack and his family. It's seemingly flown by in the blink of an eye, yet it also feels like a lifetime ago. Now he's preparing for a first Christmas without his father, and a first with his newborn son.

It wouldn't be Eddie's way for the festive period to be spent being overly morose or glum. A glass will be raised to Eddie, no doubt, but, as Jack notes, "he'd want us to make the most of it, have fun and make a fuss of Arlo".

That's how he was, as a father. Jack, now heading into parenthood himself, can't help but wax lyrical about his dad's skills. "He was really effortlessly the head of the household. He never had to assert himself at all.

"We always knew he was captain of our ship. He steered it with such ease. He never, ever dictated to us in any way. We'd just try and follow his example. He was always there for amazing advice, he was always that shoulder. He took to it so effortlessly.

"I think it was those same leadership qualities from his rugby days, it was very much the same when he was dad to us. We could go to him with anything and he'd nail the advice. There was no judgement because if we'd done anything naughty or got up to mischief, chances are he'd done it too in his youth. He had the longest fuse in the world but he was always there to back us up and support us when needed."

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It's those traits that Jack wants present in Arlo's life. They've settled in to what can only be described as the 'new normal' in the few months since his passing, but his presence remains.

How Eddie Butler will be remembered seems obvious, given the wide-ranging tributes paid to him - all done so in the knowledge that Eddie himself would deliver them all far better. But, to his family, the desire to do him proud moving forward eclipses anything else.

"I think, with Arlo being born, I want to make his grandpa as present in his life as possible without him being physically present," admitted Jack. "I want Arlo to know how special his grandpa was and what an amazing man he was.

"In terms of keeping his memory going, it's important to us that everything we do now would makes him proud. Everything we do, we do it for dad. In terms of him being remembered, it's nice that it's not just Eddie Butler the voice or Eddie Butler the rugby player.

"It's Eddie Butler the person, to whom charity meant so much and who touched so many lives. It's amazing. When he was commentating, we were quite protective of him. He had no social media as he was a complete technophobe, despite working in television.

"So we'd look on social media and you'd see the odd negative comment. but after his death, there wasn't a single negative thing said. It was so heartwarming to see all that. We just want to keep his memory alive in that vein."

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