County Durham's new Lord Lieutenant on making a difference

FROM teenage cadet to senior officer in The British Army, Mike Butterwick’s rise through the ranks has taken him all over the world.

But his sights are now fixed firmly on his adopted county of Durham as he comes to grips with his “exciting” new role as Lord-Lieutenant – and he’s aiming high.

As successor to Sue Snowdon, he is The King’s official representative in the county, and he’s determined to use a lifetime of experience in leadership to have an impact at the grass roots.

Mike Butterwick inspecting cadets (Image: Mike Butterwick)

“There’s more I can do, and this role brings a purpose to everything I’ve learned along the way,” he smiles as we chat over a morning coffee in Darlington’s Blackwell Grange Hotel.

“It's about a higher purpose and ensuring that we connect the work of The Monarchy to our local communities. Our focus must be on supporting those who volunteer every day to tackle some of the most pressing issues that our society faces."

He talks about the importance of values, his own having been shaped by a mix of ingredients: the rich multi-culturalism that runs through his veins; a passion for sport; and a distinguished military career that took root at 14 when he joined the RAF Cadets.

Mike Butterwick as an RAF cadet at 14 (Image: Family handout)

The Butterwick name is derived from ‘Boterwyck’ – meaning dairy farmer – and Mike has traced his family tree to the Butterwicks of Eaglescliffe, 300 years ago.

When they emigrated to India, they married Indian women, becoming proud Anglo-Indians, and stayed until Mike's father, John, returned to the UK with his family as a 12-year-old, and lived in a tiny bungalow in Luton.

Mike’s paternal grandfather had worked for the Indian railways and found work on the Luton shopfloor of Vauxhall Motors, while John took an apprenticeship in electrical engineering at 14. He was also a talented sportsman – a Bedfordshire boxing champion, known as “The Mighty Atom”.

To add to the international mix, Mike’s mother, Janet, was the daughter of a Polish soldier who fought the Nazis, escaped on foot from a Hungarian prisoner of war camp, and ended up in Britain in 1940.

John and Janet met in London in 1962, married four years later, and moved to Hertfordshire, where they had Mike and his older brother Richard.

"My Polish grandfather talked a lot about the war, and it had a big impact on my childhood," recalls Mike.

"I was surrounded by different cultures – curries, fish and chips, pickled gherkins, and Polish sausage were all part of growing up."

Sport and history were favourite school subjects, with the RAF cadets becoming a third passion.

After A-levels, he joined The Army's gap year scheme with the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in Germany. 

Within six months, he'd made up his mind to join The Army. Not only did it provide the financial support to study history at Cambridge University, but enabled his love of sport to flourish. 

He was awarded a Cambridge Blue in football, playing against Oxford at Fulham's home ground, Craven Cottage. "We lost," he admits with a grimace.

He moves on swiftly to add that it was also at Cambridge where he met his wife, Sarah, whose Malaysian Chinese mother had come to England in 1970 to become a Commonwealth nurse.

Military training at Sandhurst followed for Mike before he was commissioned into the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

During the first half of the 34-year Army career that followed, he served as Operational Commander in Bosnia, Northern Ireland, and Iraq, and became Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion in 2011.

The second half saw him rise to the rank of Brigadier, leading The Army's recruit training through Covid.

"I wanted to modernise Army training because the technological revolution wasn't being embraced," he recalls. "The pandemic helped to force that change and it was my job to make the most of it."

His final Army role was as Brigadier General Staff, leading on strategy during a time of cultural and organisational transformation.

"Too many of our communities weren't joining The Army and we needed to understand why," says Mike.

The answer was to take Army engagement out into the communities where there were gaps, and create mutual understanding.

For example, boxing clubs proved to be a successful way of developing links with South Asian communities in West and South Yorkshire.

He was awarded a CBE for his military service and "ground-breaking" work in transforming the Army's approach to community engagement across the north.

Mike first crossed paths with Sue Snowdon while he was based at Catterick Garrison, leading The Army in the North East, and saw the power of how the Lieutenancy connected with cadets.

The father-of-two had further discussions with Sue in 2021 after he and his family moved to Teesdale, and he was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant in 2024.

He retired from The Army in the same year, joining global engineering and construction company, Altrad, as Head of Talent, using his background in connecting with hard-to-reach  communities to grow the workforce.

Mike, who also works with other not-for-profit organisations as a leadership consultant, admits the approach to become County Durham's new Lord-Lieutenant "came as a surprise". However, he quickly saw the potential to change lives.

Mike Butterwick is getting around the county as Lord Lieutenant (Image: Mike Butterwick)

"I look across our communities and see a lot of division, and we need to try to bring people together – remembering British values and raising aspiration, so we can paint a brighter future together," he says.

He's spending the first few months of his tenure meeting his 37 Deputy Lieutenants – listening to their ideas – before producing a strategy to maximise The Lieutenancy's impact.

"We have an incredibly powerful network – people who've been successful across all kinds of walks of life, who can help support communities and inspire young people," he says.

As a former footballer, cricketer, triple-jumper, rugby and hockey player, his plans include "using the power of sport to bring people together".

And, inevitably, he hopes to encourage more young people to become cadets, while recruiting more volunteers.

"The Lieutenancy's ability to shine a torch can improve employability, provide hope and be the difference between young people making the right choices in life," he insists.

Friendly, engaging, and with a proud track record of leading from the front, the new Lord-Lieutenant of County Durham is clearly a man on a mission.