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Norman Butler (polo)

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Norman Butler
Norman Butler in St Moritz, 1972
Born(1918-12-02)December 2, 1918
DiedOctober 8, 2011(2011-10-08) (aged 92)
Education
OccupationsPolo player, horse breeder
Spouses
Pauline Winn
​
​
(m. 1948; div. 1958)​
Penelope Dewar
​
​
(m. 1959; div. 1977)​
Gabriella Gröger
​
(m. 1981)​
Children6
Parents
Military career
AllegianceUnited States
Branch
Navy
Rank
Lieutenant
UnitSquadron VB-107
Conflicts
World War II
AwardsAir Medal, Bronze Star Medal and Presidential Unit Citation

Norman Butler (December 2, 1918 – October 8, 2011) was an international polo player raised and educated in England and Europe, and who lived most of his life in Europe. He was also a thoroughbred race horse owner and breeder in Europe, where he won several classic races including the Irish 1,000 Guineas, Pretty Polly Stakes and Irish St. Leger.

He was married three times, from 1948 to 1958 to Pauline Katharine Winn, daughter of Olive, Lady Baillie of Leeds Castle in Kent, making him by marriage a member of the Whitney and Paget families, then from 1959 to 1977 to Hon. Penelope Dewar, daughter of Henry Dewar, 3rd Baron Forteviot owner of Dewar's whiskies, and from 1981 until his death in 2011 to Baroness Gabriella Gröger von Sontag, daughter of a German banker and Director of the Dresdner Bank.

Early life, education and WW2

[edit]

Norman Butler was born on December 2, 1918 to industrialist Paul Butler [1][2][3][4], son of industrialist Frank Osgood Butler,[5] and Sarah Anne Josephine Rooney, who was born in County Mayo, Ireland, became an American and French citizen, and resided in Paris and Monte Carlo.[2][6]

He was raised in England, France and Italy, and attended Hodder Place, Downside School and Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, England. He later studied Modern Greats at Oriel College, Oxford University.[7][8]

During WW2 he served as a Lieutenant (USNR) bomber pilot with Squadron VB-107, which was based in Natal, Brazil and Ascension Island.[9][10][11]He was decorated three times, with the Air Medal, Bronze Star Medal and Presidential Unit Citation.[12][13]

Career, polo and horse racing

[edit]
Norman Butler playing polo at Cowdray Park, 1958

From 1948 until 1960 he worked in England for the Butler family companies, and founded Butler S.A. (South America). In 1951 he became one of the Directors of the Peramco Film Corporation Inc. located in New York City at 325 East 72nd Street, alongside Millicent Rogers and Arturo Peralta Ramos Jr. They commissioned screenplays by Roald Dahl of some of his short stories including The Great Automatic Grammatizator and Skin.[14][15]

He played polo internationally in England, Argentina and the United States, notably on teams including Maharaj Prem Singh, Cecil Smith, Rao Raja Hanut Singh, Winston Frederick Churchill Guest, Freddie Guest and Lord Brecknock, as well as playing opposite Prince Philip at Cowdray Park and Guards Polo Club.[16][17][18]

In 1962 he bought Kilboy House in County Tipperary, Ireland from the Dunalley family as a winter home and base for his thoroughbred stables.[19][20][21][22] He also owned Athgarvan Lodge, in County Kildare, which had been used by George IV, and which he bought for a then record £490,000 for a stud farm in Ireland.[23] As a thoroughbred breeder in 1972 he won the classic Irish 1,000 Guineas and the Irish St. Leger as well as the Pretty Polly Stakes with his horse Pidget, trained by Kevin Prendergast and ridden by the jockeys T. P. Burns, Bill Williamson and Wally Swinburn.

Other notable horses included Pabui (winner of the 1974 Criterium di Roma at Capanelle) and Kilboy. He purchased several horses from the Aga Khan IV, including Emali.[24][25] His horses raced in Ireland, England, Italy and France. He also worked with Vincent O'Brien and John Magnier among others.[26] He later sold Kilboy House to Tony Ryan, founder of Ryanair.[19]

Homes

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In 1874 industrialist and member of the Jekyll Island Club James Ellsworth married Eva Frances Butler, daughter of Oliver Morris Butler.[27][28] They were the parents of the Polar Explorer Lincoln Ellsworth.[29][30] James Ellsworth bought and restored the Villa Palmieri in Fiesole above Florence, where Bocaccio was thought to have written the Decameron, and which had hosted at various times Alexandre Dumas, James Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford and Queen Victoria among others,[31] and where Norman Butler and his mother Sarah Anne Butler spent childhood summers until the death of James Ellsworth in 1925.[32][27][33]

The Butler family had homes since 1910 in Palm Beach, Florida, including on Via Bethesda and Golfview Road.[5][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]

In 1950 he purchased a 5 acre estate at First Neck Lane on Lake Agawam in Southampton, New York and an apartment at 525 Park Avenue.[44][45][46][47][48] Later in the 1950's he purchased a townhouse at 217 East 61st Street from Prince Serge Obolensky, which had been a wedding gift from President Theodore Roosevelt to his daughter Alice Longworth in 1906. The house was later sold to the actor Montgomery Clift.[49][50][51]

In 1957 he purchased Hopedene, Newport, Rhode Island from the Von Reventlow family to house the Impressionist collection and furniture he and his first wife Pauline had collected.[47][52][53] They sold the Peabody and Stearns designed house after their divorce in 1958.[47]

From 1960 until 1962 he rented Classiebawn Castle from Lord Mountbatten.[54][55][56]

In 1962 he bought Kilboy House, Tipperary, from the Dunalley family as a winter home and base for his thoroughbred stables.[19][57][58][59]

In 1966 he took up residence at the Le Chateau Malet in Cap-d'Ail, which had been designed and built in 1892 by Sir Edward Malet, a British diplomat.[60] The Villa Malet was a Beaux-Arts mansion set on 14 acres of gardens, and designed by the architect Hans-Georg Tersling.[61][62]

He later lived between England, France, Monaco and Switzerland.[16]

Personal life

[edit]

In 1948 he married Pauline Katharine Winn (1920-1974) at Caxton Hall, Westminster, daughter of Lady Baillie and the Hon. Charles John Frederick Winn (son of Rowland Winn, 2nd Baron St Oswald), of Leeds Castle in Kent.[63][64][65][66][67] They divorced in 1958. They had two children together, Sandra Butler (born 1949) and Paget Butler (born 1953).[68][69][70][71][72]

In 1959 he married in Perth, Scotland his second wife, the Hon. Penelope Dewar (1935-2023), daughter of Lord Forteviot, owner of Dewar Whiskies in Scotland.[73][74][16] She was an aunt of the Duke of Fife.[75] They divorced in 1977. They had three children together, Paul Butler (1960 - 1988), Tiggy Butler (born 1961) and Sean Butler (born 1963).[76][77][78][79][80][81][71]

In 1981 he married at Kensington and Chelsea Register Office his third wife Baroness Gabriella Gröger von Sontag (1945-2012), fashion editor of German Vogue, daughter of a German banker and Director of the Dresdner Bank.[82][16]They had one son together, Patrick de Butler (born 1986).[83][81][71]

He was a member of Buck's Club and a life member of the Corviglia Club.[84][85]

He died at the age of 92 on October 8, 2011.[86]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Paul Butler Dead at 89; Top Aviation Executive". June 26, 1981 – via NYTimes.com.
  2. ^ a b "The Butlers of Oak Brook, Two | Classic Chicago Magazine". February 28, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  3. ^ "Paul Butler obit 01 Jul 1981". The Miami Herald. July 1, 1981. p. 90. Retrieved September 18, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Paul Butler -- founder of Butler Aviation, the nation's... - UPI Archives".
  5. ^ a b "Frank Osgood Butler Obituary, grandson Norman Butler". The Palm Beach Post. March 19, 1955. p. 5 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Who's Who, What's what and where in Ireland. Geoffrey Chapman Publishers. 1973. ISBN 978-0-225-65887-3.
  7. ^ "President Roosevelt Sets Sail For US 1940". RTE. June 1, 2020.
  8. ^ https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-star-norman-butler-and-m/197771552/
  9. ^ "VP-107 History". VP Navy.
  10. ^ "Lt Norman Butler hosted by Mrs FRank Osgood Butler at Everglades Club". The Palm Beach Post. December 3, 1944. p. 18 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Norman Butler goes to New York and Argentina after WW2 service". Chicago Tribune. February 3, 1946. p. 98 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "BUTLER, NORMAN FRANK". New York Times. October 11, 2011. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  13. ^ "Norman Butler wins Air Medal in WW2". Chicago Tribune. January 19, 1947. p. 113 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Roald Dahl Original Music Score & Screenplay c 1953 "The Great Automatic Grammatisator" and "Skin" with provenance Thomas Tycho Béla Dolesko". www.etsy.com.
  15. ^ Who's who in America. A.N. Marquis. 1956.
  16. ^ a b c d Whitfield, Kay (March 27, 2016). "The Butlers of Oak Brook, Six". Classic Chicago Magazine. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  17. ^ "Norman Butler invites Prince Philip for polo". The Miami Herald. May 5, 1958. p. 20 – via newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Norman Butler London social set and polo with Prince Philip". Daily News. June 10, 1959. p. 563 – via newspapers.com.
  19. ^ a b c "Huge blaze at home of airline founder's son but extensive art collection saved". Irish Independent. March 5, 2005. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
  20. ^ "The Cottage Door | Modern British & Irish Art Day Auction | 2023".
  21. ^ "Hon. Mr. and Mrs. Norman Butler Kilboy hunt". Irish Independent. April 22, 1967. p. 7 – via newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Norman Butler and Penny Butler buy Kilboy from Lord Dunalley". The Tatler and Bystander. November 7, 1962. p. 21.
  23. ^ "Norman Butler sells stud farm in Ireland". Irish Independent. September 22, 1978. p. 26 – via newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Norman Butler buys Emali from Aga Khan". The Daily Telegraph. December 5, 1957. p. 6 – via newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Norman Butler and Penelope Dewar visit Aga Khan". Daily Mirror. June 8, 1959. p. 26 – via newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "KEVIN PRENDERGAST Three of the best". thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  27. ^ a b "James W. Ellsworth – Hudson Memory".
  28. ^ "The Butlers of Oak Brook | Classic Chicago Magazine". February 21, 2016.
  29. ^ "Ellsworth, Lincoln (1880-1951)".
  30. ^ "Antarctic Explorers: Lincoln Ellsworth".
  31. ^ "Queen Victoria's favorite Tuscan villa for sale for more than $55 million". September 15, 2024.
  32. ^ "Gardens in Tuscany | Villa Palmieri and Villa Schifanoiai in Fiesole | Secret treasures in Tuscany | Podere Santa Pia, holiday house in the south of Tuscany".
  33. ^ "James W. Ellsworth Papers".
  34. ^ https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-norman-butler-everglades/197590401/
  35. ^ "Guests of Paul Butler in Palm Beach, including Lt Norman Butler". The Palm Beach Post. March 22, 1945. p. 6 – via newspapers.com.
  36. ^ "Lt Norman Butler party in Palm Beach and stay at Via Bethesda residence with Mrs Frank Osgood Butler". The Palm Beach Post. November 22, 1944. p. 8 – via newspapers.com.
  37. ^ "Norman Butler in Palm Beach with Mrs Paul Butler, Prince Alexis Zalstem-Zalessky and friends". The Miami Herald. January 13, 1946. p. 57 – via newspapers.com.
  38. ^ "FRANZ BUEB OCH SADJA STOKOWSKI - alb8490614 album-online.com". Album.
  39. ^ https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-paul-butler-an/198779989/
  40. ^ https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune-norman-butler-most-eligi/197772219/
  41. ^ "R.L. JORDANS GIVE LUNCHEON FOR 30; J.C. Springs Also Entertain at Palm Beach for Their Guest, Mme. Rabinovitch. M. FATIOS DINNER HOSTS Contessa Denise Dolfin, Samuel Kirkham and G.C. Ewings Also Have Guests. F.O. Butlers Arrive. Polo Team to Play in Miami. C.S. Paysons Expected Soon". The New York Times. December 30, 1929.
  42. ^ "PALM BEACH CLUB HAS SPIRITED BALL; Hundreds of Colonists Turn to Picturesque Costume Fete in the Everglades. GRAND MARCH a FEATURE Many Entertain at Annual Event Staged Against Background of Orange Gardens". The New York Times. March 7, 1934.
  43. ^ "HERBERT PULITZERS GIVE DINNER PARTY; MRS. F.O. Butler and MRS. Nicolai Among Others Who Entertain in Palm Beach". The New York Times. April 29, 1934.
  44. ^ "Norman Butler buys Southampton and New York apartment". The Miami Herald. October 21, 1950. p. 28 – via newspapers.com.
  45. ^ "Buys Southampton Estate". The New York Times. November 5, 1950.
  46. ^ "Mrs Charles Shipman Payson welcomes Mr and Mrs Norman Butler". The Post-Star. August 10, 1951. p. 5 – via newspapers.com.
  47. ^ a b c Rief, Rita (November 16, 1984). "AUCTIONS; The Cave collection" – via NYTimes.com.
  48. ^ "SOUTHAMPTON PLANS FETE; Annual Fiesta Will Raise Funds for Care and Planting of Trees". The New York Times. July 16, 1952.
  49. ^ "Montgomery Clift's Pedigreed Upper East Side Townhouse Could be Yours". The New York Observer. September 9, 2016.
  50. ^ "Montgomery Clift's House Goes on the Market -- New York Magazine - Nymag". June 2006.
  51. ^ Rossi, Charles (January 17, 1957). "Comedy Tuesday Will Aid Blood Foundation; 'Mr. Dooley' at The Lambs to Be Benefit for Children's Unit" – via NYTimes.com.
  52. ^ "Newport Daily News from Newport, Rhode Island". August 15, 1957.
  53. ^ "Norman Butler buys Hopedene". Newport Daily News. August 15, 1957. p. 2 – via newspapers.com.
  54. ^ https://www.newspapers.com/image/721178360/?match=1&clipping_id=198320361
  55. ^ "Norman Butler Classiebawn Castle 1962". Irish Independent. March 16, 1962. p. 14 – via newspapers.com.
  56. ^ "Norman Butler Classiebawn Castle". Chicago Tribune. November 8, 1961. p. 41 – via newspapers.com.
  57. ^ "The Cottage Door | Modern British & Irish Art Day Auction | 2023".
  58. ^ "1959 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I Drophead Coupe Adaptation by H.J. Mulliner | Amelia Island 2015".
  59. ^ "Hon. Mr. and Mrs. Norman Butler Kilboy hunt". Irish Independent. April 22, 1967. p. 7 – via newspapers.com.
  60. ^ "Château Malet, France". Hurwitz James Company. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
  61. ^ "Le Chateau Malet, Cap d'Ail, French Riviera, France - 2015-03-30 - the Most Expensive Homes for Sale in the World". Forbes.
  62. ^ "Château Malet, France | Hurwitz James Company".
  63. ^ "LONDON NUPTIALS FOR PAULitE; WIblbl Relative of Lord Queenborough) Wed to Norman Butler, Son of Chicago Paper Official (Published 1948)". The New York Times. October 29, 1948.
  64. ^ "Nov 02, 1948, page 10 - The Palm Beach Post at Newspapers.com™". Newspapers.com. November 2, 1948. p. 10.
  65. ^ "Norman Butler and Pauline Winn wedding in London in 1948, bridesmaid Mrs Charles Sweeny". Evening Standard. October 28, 1948. p. 2 – via newspapers.com.
  66. ^ "Norman Butler weds Pauline Winn in London". Chicago Tribune. October 29, 1948. p. 31 – via newspapers.com.
  67. ^ "Mr and MRS Norman Butler attend a party at the Gilbert Millers in New York, 1952". The Tatler and Bystander. January 23, 1952. p. 13.
  68. ^ "Sandra Butler and T. J. Heise Plan Nuptials April 8 on L.I." New York Times. February 20, 1972. p. 73.
  69. ^ "Miss Sandra Butler is Married (Published 1972)". The New York Times. April 9, 1972.
  70. ^ "Marriage of Butler". Daily News. April 9, 1972. p. 117.
  71. ^ a b c "Marjorie Childress Obituary (2003) - West Palm Beach, FL - The Palm Beach Post". Legacy.com. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
  72. ^ "Thanksgiving Service". October 27, 2011. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
  73. ^ "Miss Dewar Bride Of Norman Butler". The New York Times. June 12, 1959. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  74. ^ https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-record-norman-butler-and-penelope/197906553/
  75. ^ https://groups.google.com/g/peerage-news/c/PaGsG6cU8Pw
  76. ^ "Son to the Norman Butlers (Published 1960)". The New York Times. June 16, 1960.
  77. ^ "Son to the Norman Butlers', Paul III". Chicago Tribune. January 11, 1961. p. 36 – via newspapers.com.
  78. ^ "Norman Butler Classiebawn Castle". November 8, 1961. p. 41 – via newspapers.com.
  79. ^ "Regent's Park properties are the cream of the crop". Financial Times.
  80. ^ "Tiggy Butler | Architectural Digest | SEPTEMBER 2005".
  81. ^ a b "Butler II, Frank Osgood". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois, USA. August 31, 2014. p. 28 – via newspapers.com.
  82. ^ https://archive.nytimes.com/query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage-9802EFD91F3AF932A25753C1A9679D8B63.html
  83. ^ https://archive.nytimes.com/query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage-9802EFD91F3AF932A25753C1A9679D8B63.html
  84. ^ Who's Who, What's what and where in Ireland. Geoffrey Chapman Publishers. 1973. ISBN 978-0-225-65887-3.
  85. ^ "Mr and MRS Norman Butler at London party and St Moritz and the Corviglia club in 1951". The Tatler and Bystander. February 21, 1951. p. 15.
  86. ^ "The Butlers of Oak Brook, Eight | Classic Chicago Magazine". April 8, 2016.
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