TERRY BUTCHER’S iconic bloodied head photograph earned him a reputation as one of football’s most notorious hardmen.
Now, 37 years later, Butcher is embarrassed by the image and wants to be remembered for a legacy other than his blood-stained shirt – the one his late son Chris left behind.
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Terry Butcher is remembered for this iconic blood-soaked photograph from 1989 Credit: Hulton Archive – Getty
Butcher wants his legacy to be about his work after football now Credit: Taz Brotherton
Butcher, 67, looked as if he had – quite literally – gone to battle for his country when he trudged off the pitch after England’s goalless World Cup qualifier draw against Sweden in 1989.
The defender’s crisp white shirt had turned red from the blood leaking from his head and the ball was left sticky from repeatedly heading crosses throughout the game.
The image caught by photographers that day has been shared countless times, and football fans still dress up as Butcher for Halloween every year.
But Butcher, who earned 77 caps for England, doesn’t think he did anything special that day and is convinced anyone else would have done the same.
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He told JattvibeSport: “I get embarrassed when people talk about it because every Englishman worth their salt would have done the same, exactly the same.
“I didn’t want to be taken off, I fought like hell not to come off. But obviously the rules have changed now, considerably, and quite rightly so.
“But it’s not about being brave, it was just doing your job.”
That mentality of putting your nation before yourself runs in the Butcher family.
Chris Butcher joined the Army in 2008 Credit: Terry Butcher
Chris suffered from PTSD after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan Credit: Social Media refer to Source
Butcher plays with a young Chris in the clips from the documentary Credit: Sylver Entertainment/ITV
Former team-mate and TalkSport host Alan Brazil appears in the moving film Credit: Sylver Entertainment/ITV
His eldest son, Chris, joined the Army in 2008 as a 26-year-old in the same intake as Prince Harry and later became a captain in the Royal Artillery.
Chris went on to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan where he sadly became a “victim of war” after suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
The PTSD ultimately led to Chris’ death in 2017, when Butcher found his son lifeless between his bed and the wall at just 35 years of age.
An inquest concluded Chris died of an abnormal enlargement of the heart, of uncertain cause, combined with the effect of drugs against a background of PTSD.
Chris had tried to take his own life three times in the past, and his severe PTSD haunted him with flashbacks about the deaths of comrades and civilians.
He would regularly hear the high-pitched screams of an Iraqi schoolgirl and the inescapable noise of a sergeant-major berating him.
Butcher’s world changed the day he found Chris dead, putting into perspective what it means to put your body on the line for your country in a completely different way to how he did in an England shirt.
He said: “Chris was brave because he was doing a job that was unbelievably difficult and it was facing life and death.
“So it’s considerably different to what I did. It was only a game for goodness sake.
“I’m not the hero, I just kicked the ball about the park, they’re the real heroes. That still stands true to me today.”
Butcher discovered Chris dead in his bedroom in 2017 Credit: Sylver Entertainment/ITV
Butcher now works with the charity Combat2Coffee to help veterans and their families suffering in the same way Chris did Credit: Terry Butcher
Butcher wants to tell Chris’ story to help those suffering from similar problems in their lives.
This is why he is the subject of an emotional new documentary, ‘Butcher: Invisible Wounds’.
The feature film, airing on ITV on June 9, discusses Butcher’s career with contributions from former team-mates Gary Lineker, Ally McCoist and Alan Brazil.
Before discussing the difficult topic of Chris’ death and how Butcher is now campaigning to ensure that veterans, and their families, have the support that Chris didn’t get.
Butcher said: “We loved our son, we still love him, and we always will. To do something like this documentary is nice.
“Not many people get to have that opportunity to talk about their children. But I had a great career and I have a platform that was different to other people that have suffered loss because people were aware of me.
“It resonates with people a lot more that I am in the public eye. I have been in the public eye quite considerably. I am very honoured and very lucky to have that.
“I want to make full use of that and make sure that we can honour Chris’ memory but help people.
“The film starts off with my career and then it goes to Chris’s tragedy but it’s very much intertwined. And then at the end there’s hope and I think there is hope.”
Since Chris’ death, Butcher has started working with the charity Combat2Coffee, which gives veterans and their families a place to openly discuss mental health.
Butcher and his wife Rita felt alone when they were trying to help Chris navigate his PTSD, while Chris turned to alcohol just to block out the noise.
Most football fans will remember Butcher for his heroic career with England, Rangers and Ipswich Town, and his fearsome on-pitch persona.
But Butcher wants this documentary to change his legacy from being a blood-soaked England hard-man to a grieving father fighting for change for the nation’s veterans.
He added: “It is good that we can honour Chris’ memory and hopefully people will remember me for it.
“Whenever someone gets a head knock it’s always, ‘He’s doing a Terry Butcher’. But I want my son to be remembered more as well.
“His battles were not like World Cup semi-finals, big tournaments or title wins. It was about coming back alive and coming back well, which unfortunately he didn’t.”
