St. George's, Grenada
Butler was born in St. George's, Grenada, where he attended the Anglican School. Unable to find work after completing his primary school education, at 17 he became a volunteer in the British West Indies Regiment in World War I, serving in the British Army from 1914 to 1918, stationed in Egypt. Returning from military service at the end of the war in 1918, he became active in political pressure groups and workers unions, establishing the Grenada Representative Government Movement, and the Grenada Union of Returned Soldiers. In 1921, aged 24, he went to south Trinidad and was employed at the Roodal Oilfields as a pipe-fitter. He became influenced by the philosophy of Marcus Garvey, according to Garvey's son Dr Julius Garvey.