Early life Courtauld was born at
Bocking, Essex, the son of Samuel Augustine Courtauld JP (1865–1953) and great-grandson of
George Courtauld (1802–1861). He was a cousin of British industrialist
Samuel Courtauld the founder of the
Courtauld Institute, and of Sydney Courtauld, who married the leading politician
Rab Butler. He was educated at
Charterhouse School and
Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating in 1926. In 1926 he joined
James Wordie's summer expedition to east Greenland as photographer. In 1927 Courtauld travelled with
Francis and
Peter Rodd to the
Aïr Mountains in the southern Sahara. Courtauld attempted unsuccessfully to become a stockbroker but returned to Greenland in the summer of 1929 on another expedition with Wordie.
British Arctic Air Route Expedition During the pioneer powered flights over the Atlantic Ocean in the 1920s, it was already clear that an all-ocean route was suboptimal, especially when flying from east to west. The
Great Circle routes from much of Europe to much of North America approach or pass over the island of Greenland, and strong
jet stream winds are a further incentive to the westbound flyer to take a northern route. During the 1920s, however, little was known of climatic conditions on the coastline of Greenland, and almost literally nothing was known of the weather in the interior of Greenland during the polar winter. The
Gino Watkins-led expedition of 1930–1931, the
British Arctic Air Route Expedition, was intended to gather data aimed at solving these puzzles. Later in the expedition, together with
Percy Lemon and
Gino Watkins, Courtauld made an open boat journey of around the
King Frederick VI Coast in the south of Greenland. Upon his return to England, Courtauld was awarded the
Polar Medal, in silver, with clasp inscribed "Arctic, 1930-1931".
Climbing Gunnbjorn Fjeld Courtauld was a member of the party to make the first ascent of
Gunnbjørn Fjeld (3963m), the highest mountain in the Arctic, in 1935.
War service Courtauld served throughout the Second World War as an officer in the
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. He was seconded to
No. 14 (Arctic) Commando which included polar explorers among them,
David Haig-Thomas,
Andrew Croft, and some men from the RNVR. They specialised in using canoes for
limpet mine attacks in Arctic waters.
Personal life Courtauld married Mollie Montgomerie in
Southwark Cathedral in 1932. his widow married the Conservative
Home Secretary Rab Butler, whose wife, August's cousin, Sydney Courtauld had died in 1954. Butler went on to become foreign secretary and was spoken of as 'the next Prime Minister'. The couple lived in a number of homes, including
Gatcombe Park which Butler had inherited from his father-in-law, the art collector
Samuel Courtauld; Gatcombe was bought by
Queen Elizabeth II in 1976 for
Princess Anne, and Captain
Mark Phillips. The Butlers bought back Spencers, the house where Mollie had lived during her first marriage, for their home. The couple were married for more than two decades, until Richard, Lord Butler of Saffron Walden, died in 1982. Lady Butler, the former Mrs Mollie Courtauld, died on 18 February 2009 at the age of 101. ==Memory==