PYCROFTs’
BIKE RIDE
Please sponsor us!
My name is Elliott Pycroft, I am 12
years old and I am going to cycle 39
miles from London to Windsor on 4
September 2011 with my Dad, to raise
money for the Michala Butterfield
(nee Emmett) Bursary.
Michala was my cousin and a barister
who trained at Somerville College,
Oxford. At the age of 30 she was with
her husband, Sam Butterfield, on their
honeymoon in India, when they were
both tragically killed in a car accident.
The Michala Butterfield Bursary helps
fund talented female law students who
would otherwise find it difficult to take
up their place at Somerville College.
My Dad and I would really appreciate
your support. Thank you.
Elliott
www.justgiving.com/
elliott-pycroft
About The
Michala Butterfield
(Nee Emmett)
Bursary
In January 2008, Michala and her
new husband Sam were tragically
killed in a car accident while on
their honeymoon. She was just 30
years old and is greatly missed by
her family and friends. Michala read
law at Somerville College, Oxford
University (1995-1998) and the
time she spent there was precious
to her, both academically and
personally. The aim of the appeal is
to endow an in-perpetuity bursary
in Michala’s name, at Somerville
College, Oxford University. The
scholarship or bursary would be
for a talented female law student
who would otherwise find it difficult,
if not impossible, to take up
their place at the college without
financial support.
www.justgiving.com/
elliott-pycroft
January 12, 2008
Honeymoon barristers killed in Indian
crash
Simon de Bruxelles
Two barristers have been killed in a car
crash on their honeymoon in northern India.
Samuel Butterfield, 34, the son of a senior
High Court judge, and his bride, Michala
Emmett, died in Rajasthan on Thursday
when their taxi collided with a lorry.
Mr Butterfield was a criminal prosecutor
based at Albion Chambers in Bristol and his
wife was an employment barrister with the
law firm Osborne Clarke, also in Bristol.
According to Indian newspaper reports,
the couple were travelling to Jaisalmer,
known as the Golden City, when their taxi
collided head-on with an empty lorry. The
taxi driver, Ramrakh Yadav, from Delhi,
was killed in the crash, about 30 miles from
Bikaner, where the couple had spent the
previous night.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We
can confirm that two British nationals were
killed in a road traffic collision on January
10 in Rajasthan when their car collided
with a lorry. We are providing consular
assistance.”
Judge Douglas Field, sitting at Swindon
Crown Court yesterday, said that Mr
Butterfield would have gone on to a
promising career. He said: “He often
appeared in these courts, certainly in front
of me on numerous occasions.
“He got on well with court staff and court
judges and had a very promising career in
front of him.
“It is tragic that Mr Butterfield’s life
has been brought to an end in these
circumstances. The bench send their
condolences to his siblings and to his
parents.” The judge asked the court to
observe a minute’s silence.
Adam Vaitilingam, Mr Butterfield’s
colleague at Albion Chambers, said: “All of
us are devastated by this news. He was as
popular a member of the bar as there could
be.” A neighbour in Bristol said: “They
had only been here a couple of years, but
they were fantastic people and we were
good friends with them. They were married
in December.” Another neighbour added:
“They were always very warm and friendly
and we often chatted to them. It’s a real
shock.”
Mr Butterfield was called to the Bar in 1999
and was a member of the Western Circuit.
His father, Sir Alexander Neil Logie
Butterfield, was appointed to the Queen’s
Bench Division of the High Court in 1995.
Mrs Butterfield had worked for the
Treasury Solicitors’ Department and the
law firm Eversheds before joining Osborne
Clarke in September 2006. She specialised
in providing legal advice to employers in
the technology and publishing sectors.
Albion Chambers would not comment on
the deaths at the request of Mr Butterfield’s
family. Osborne Clarke also declined to
comment.