John Courtauld

British politician (1880–1942)

John Courtauld

MC MP

Member of Parliament
for Chichester
In office
29 October 1924 – 20 April 1942
Preceded by| Charles Rudkin
Succeeded by| Lancelot Joynson-Hicks
Personal details
Born| (1880-08-26)26 August 1880
Bocking, Braintree, Essex, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Died| 20 April 1942(1942-04-20) (aged 61)
Midhurst, Sussex, United Kingdom
Political party| Conservative
Spouse(s)|

Henrietta Barbara Courtauld, née Holland

(m. 1906)​

Children| 1
Occupation|

* Politician
* architect

Awards|  Military Cross
Military service
Allegiance|  United Kingdom
Branch/service|  British Army
Rank| Major
Battles/wars| First World War

Major John Sewell Courtauld, MC MP (30 August 1880–20 April 1942) was a British Conservative Party politician and architect.[1]

## Early life and education

[edit]

John "Jack" Sewell Courtauld was born on the 26 August 1880 to Sydney Courtauld (1840–1899) and Sarah Lucy Sharpe (1844–1906).[2] Courtauld had two sisters, Sydney Renée Courtauld and Catharine Dowman (née Courtauld), and three brothers Sir William Courtauld, 1st Baronet, Samuel Courtauld, and Sir Stephen Courtauld. Courtauld was educated at Rugby School and at King's College, Cambridge.[2]

On the 25 October 1906, Courtauld married Henrietta Barbara Courtauld (née Holland) at St Mary's Church in Wimbledon.[3] The couple had one daughter.

## Military service

[edit]

He saw active service in the First World War. He took up his Commission in October 1914, becoming a 2nd Lieutenant in the 6th Battn. Somerset Light Infantry. He was in France in May, 1915 and served in the Ypres Salient until March 1916. He was at Arras until September, 1916, then going to the Somme until November 1916. He was awarded the Military Cross in December 1916. He was appointed Director of Army Accounts and Quartermaster General of the Division, and later served in Salonika. He was gazetted Major in 1917 and received the Croix-de-Guene avec Palme at the close of the Palestine campaign.[2]

## Career

[edit]

He owned a company of architects,[2] but at the 1924 general election he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Chichester, a safe Conservative seat. He was duly re-elected at the general elections of 1929, 1931 and 1935, until his death in 1942, aged 61. He had a London residence at 9 Grosvenor Square and in 1919 he acquired the Burton Park estate, West Sussex, within the Chichester constituency. He moved to a cottage on the estate after it was requisitioned by the Army at the start of the Second World War. [2]

He had a longstanding interest in film production and in 1934 became Chairman of the Directors of a new company, British National Films Ltd. Colleagues on the Board were Lady Yule, J. Arthur Rank and Managing Director John Corfield [4]

## Personal life

[edit]

He was a breeder and owner of racehorses, and was an active member of the Jockey Club and Chairman of the Racecourse Betting Control Board [5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Union List of Artist Names. "Courtauld, John Sewell (British architect, 1880-1942)". Getty Research. Las Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Trust. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
2. ^ a b c d e "Major Courtauld's Sudden Death". Chichester & Southdown Observer. 25 April 1942. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
3. ^ "Henrietta Barbara Holland and John Jewell [Sewell] Courtauld". Surrey Church of England Parish Registers (Reference Number: 2853/1/7). Woking: Surrey History Centre: 80. 1906.
4. ^ "New Film Company. Major J.S. Courtauld's Interest". Worthing Gazette. 13 August 1934. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
5. ^ "Death of Chichester Division MP". Worthing Gazette. 22 April 1942. Retrieved 24 November 2024.

* Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

Parliament of the United Kingdom

Preceded by

Charles Mark Clement Rudkin

|  Member of Parliament for Chichester
1924–1942 | Succeeded by

Lancelot Joynson-Hicks

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

Artists|

* ULAN

Other|

* SNAC

*[m.]: married