A top cricketer and Bermuda Post Office manager was also aide-de-camp to several Governors as well as the Queen, and equerry to Princess Margaret, during his regimental career.

Major Randall Butler, a former president of the Bermuda Cricket Umpires Association, also travelled the world umpiring matches.

He had taken to cricket early in childhood, joining the Western Stars team as a teenager. He later served as president of the Western Stars Sports Club.

He trained at the West Indies Cricket Umpires Association, where he served as vice-president. Major Butler also served on the Bermuda Cricket Board of Control and the International Cricket Council.

He was conscripted into the Bermuda Regiment in 1967 and rose through the ranks during a 23-year career, retiring as a major in November 1990. He then served on the Defence Promotions Board.

He was awarded an Efficiency Decoration, which is only given to officers who have 12 years of commissioned service in good standing.

Major Butler’s roles allowed him a familiarity with some of the dignitaries who called on the island.

“Growing up on Angle Street, I never would have imagined I’d one day be meeting queens and presidents,” he recalled in a 2015 interview with The Royal Gazette.

“I met Queen Elizabeth II at the Southampton Princess,” he said. “She seemed very straightforward.

“I also met US President George Bush Sr in the 1980s when he was still vice-president.

“I knew Princess Margaret a bit more because I was driving her around. I led parades, and was Acting Colonel twice.”

An equerry is the officer tasked with assisting members of the royal family – and Major Butler even enjoyed friendly correspondence with Princess Margaret.

He wrote to her during a postal course in the UK in 2000 and was invited to tea but had to turn down the offer because of his studies.

Lieutenant-Colonel Ben Beasley, Commanding Officer of the Royal Bermuda Regiment, called him “a respected and dedicated officer who served with tremendous pride”.

“An officer with admirable humility, he demonstrated tact at all times and was a consistent feature of the diplomatic team.

“There are few officers in the world who have been aides to the Queen, Princess Margaret, and a Governor as he did in 1975, 1984 and 1990, and from 1981 to 1984 respectively.

“Within the regiment, he progressed through the ranks, receiving his commission from Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1970, and finished service having commanded both Training Company and Headquarters Company, the latter overseeing operations for Hurricane Emily.”

Major Butler was sent on a string of exchanges and attachments and was a graduate of the Company Commanders Course at Warminster.

Colonel Beasley said he was especially well known to members of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment in Ontario, with whom he trained on many occasions.

“The Lincoln and Welland Regiment Association wrote to us expressing their deep sadness at his passing and to share their fond memories of training with Major Butler for so many years,” he said.

“Like many of his peers, Major Butler served through four embodiments for civil unrest.

“Not only were these some of Bermuda’s darkest periods in recent history, but they must have been incredibly difficult on the young men who were called into camp and mobilised.

“An ever-professional soldier, Major Butler repeatedly fulfilled his oath and willingly put others’ lives and safety before his own.

“It is important that when we remember service personnel like Major Butler we acknowledge not only what they were willing to do for their country, but the families that support them throughout their military careers.”

Colonel Beasley added: “A well respected cricketer, the only time Major Butler was ever recorded as being unfit for duty was because of taking a ball to the fingers.

“He was well known in the cricketing world and especially as being a West Indies qualified umpire. His athletic prowess made him an ideal candidate as the regiment’s Sports Officer, a position he held for a decade.

“A caring, humble, and loyal officer, Major Butler was exceptionally valued and widely liked by his subordinates and commanders.

“After retirement he remained an active supporter of the regiment, an organisation that he gave so much to and was better for having him as part of it for so many years.

“No doubt he will be missed and celebrated in equal measures.

“Our sincere condolences to his family and loved ones.”

Major Butler was meticulous as an umpire and occasionally commented on the state of cricket in Bermuda.

“I enjoyed umpiring on the grounds that you could see where Bermuda cricket was going,” he said. “Sometimes you saw it improving and then you saw it fall off.”

Major Butler is survived by his wife, Alfreda, and their children, Angeline and Melissa Butler.

• Randall Lewis Burrows Butler, a retired officer of the Royal Bermuda Regiment and veteran cricket official, was born on August 30, 1944. He died in April 2023, aged 78.