Colonel Richard Butson MD, FI' 03
Honourary Chairman, Canadian Chapter

Dr. Butson

Explorer, surgeon, professor, soldier. Born in Hankow, China, Dr. Butson studied for his medical degree at Cambridge University and the University College Hospital in London. Upon graduation he joined the Falkland Islands Dependency Survey, predecessor to the British Antarctic Survey. From 1946 to 1948 Dr. Butson took part in an expedition to the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula that would map the last 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) of uncharted coastline left on Earth. At night, during a mid-antarctic winter he rescued a member of the American Finn Ronne expedition who had fallen 30 metres (106 feet) into a tapered glacial crevasse. For this heroic rescue Dr. Butson received the British Commonwealth's George Cross, the second highest medal for bravery after the Victoria Cross. Dr. Butson was also awarded the prestigious Polar Medal.

In 1952 Dr. Butson moved to Canada eventually settling in Hamilton, Ontario where he held a surgeon's position at St. Joseph's Hospital. He also taught medicine at McMaster University. In 1957 Dr. Butson joined the Canadian Forces Reserve as a medical officer and rose to the rank of colonel after reorganizing the army reserve's medical services.

Articles of Interest

• Frey, Joseph, “Ice Scream”, The Medical Post, January 8, 2002.(View .PDF)
• A Quick Chat with Colonel Richard Butson. (View .PDF)

Photo Album Trepassey in London docks October 1946. A Newfoundland ship contracted to supply British bases along the Antarctic Peninsula. Trepassey in Port Lockroy, Wiencke Island, off west coast of Antarctic Peninsula, January 31, 1947. Dogs and men in drifting snow on a reconnaissance survey in the mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula, March 1947. Dr. Butson on left with goggles and Kevin Walton on right, on a journey to support a geological survey on sea ice on the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, September 1947. Dr. Butson in front of a British hut, Stonington Island, Marguerite Bay, February 1948  Dr. Butson in front of an iceberg off Stonington Island, August 1947