Angus Paton

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Sir Angus Paton
Aswan High Dam, Indus Basin Project

Sir Thomas Angus Lyall Paton (10 May 1905 – 7 April 1999) was a British

Invasion of Normandy
.

After the Second World War, Paton undertook an economic survey of Syria, which made recommendations for port, water infrastructure, irrigation and hydroelectric improvements. This was followed by a similar report on

P.K. Le Roux Dam, the Spioenkop Dam and the Tarbela Dam. Paton was knighted in 1973 and retired in 1977, remaining a senior consultant to Gibb and Partners. He spent his retirement in Jersey, where he died at St Helier on 7 April 1999. Paton was dedicated to his professional career and served as President of both the Institution of Civil Engineers (November 1970 – November 1971) and the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers
.

Early life

Angus, the name he preferred,

First World War in 1914.[2] He spent the next six years living in St Leonards-on-Sea in Sussex where he lived next door to his future wife, Joan Delme-Murray.[2]

Paton spent four years at Brunswick

first class honours Bachelor of Science degree in engineering in 1925.[2]

Work

Post-graduation

Maentwrog Dam

Upon graduation Paton joined Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, which had been founded in 1922.

Ralph Freeman who had designed the Sydney Harbour Bridge.[5] The report was issued on 15 January 1932 but was not implemented until 1935 with the election of William Lyon Mackenzie King as Prime Minister of Canada.[8] The report's findings continued to be in use until the 1970s.[8] Paton was responsible for the construction of a new brewery for Guinness in Park Royal, London from October 1933 to October 1936.[8] This was the biggest job of his career thus far and involved the construction of seven steel framed buildings, a power station, a storage silo, roads and railway sidings.[4] Paton also built industrial and trading estates in Wales, West Cumberland and London.[4] He was made a partner in the firm in 1938.[5]

Second World War

A caisson from one of the Mulberry harbours

During the Second World War the running of Gibb and Partners fell largely to Paton and

V-2 rockets in the London districts of Wanstead and Woodford.[9]

Post-war

In 1945 Paton began construction of a

Euphrates River.[6] Paton undertook a similar survey in Lebanon from 1947 to 1948.[6] He was also involved in a report on the possibility of running a railroad from Northern Rhodesia to Dar es Salaam, Mtwara and Nyasaland.[6]

Owen Falls Dam under construction

Paton worked extensively in the field of hydroelectric power and became regarded as a world authority on the matter.

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George on 1 January 1960.[10] As a result of the success of the Kariba project Gibb and Partners became involved with many of the biggest dam projects of the next two decades including works in Sudan, Argentina, South Africa and Pakistan.[4]

Kariba Dam

Paton was later involved in the second stage of the Kariba Project and in the

Aswan High Dam project.[11] In 1955 he became a senior partner in Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners upon the death of Alistair Gibb in a polo accident.[11] From 1960 until 1977, when he retired, Paton was the responsible partner for the firm's involvement in the supervision of the $1.2 billion World Bank Indus Basin Project.[11] This included the construction of the Mangla Dam between 1962 and 1968.[11]

In 1962 Gibb & Partners was one of two firms chosen (with

P.K. Le Roux Dam, was finished in 1977.[12] Following the success of this project Paton was retained to build a third, smaller dam, the Spioenkop Dam, which was finished in 1972.[12] Paton was also involved with the tunnelling and underground powerhouse for the Drakensberg Pumped Storage Scheme.[12] Paton was retained by the World Bank once more in 1967 to supervise the construction of the Tarbela Dam in Pakistan, which was completed in 1976.[12] He also worked on the modernisation of the Royal Mint which involved the move from its 600-year home at Tower Hill to Llantrisant in Wales in time for decimalisation in 1971.[8]

Retirement

Paton retired from the firm in 1977 but worked for them again as a senior consultant between 1979 and 1985.[13] During this time he worked on the James Bay Project, a large hydroelectric and infrastructure development in Quebec, Canada.[13] Paton spent the last twenty years of his life in retirement in Jersey in the Channel Islands.[4][5] In his working life he had visited 48 countries and spent 3152 days abroad.[5] During his career with Gibb and Partners he had grown the company from a 400 employee, home-based company to one which employed more than 1500 engineers working in 63 countries.[4] He was also largely responsible for leading the trend of exporting British technical expertise around the world.[4]

Paton made an endowment to the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1986, as a result the Academy awards the Sir Angus Paton Bursary of £7000 annually to a masters student.[14] Paton married on 7 June 1933 to Joan with whom he raised two daughters and two sons.[3] Joan died on 7 January 1964, an event which spurred him to become more involved in his profession.[4] Paton died at St Helier in Jersey on 7 April 1999.[4]

Personal life

Paton married Eleanor Joan Delmé-Murray on 7 June 1933, they remained married until her death at the age of 53 in 1964. They had two sons and two daughters.

Professional recognition

Institutional and committee memberships

In addition to his busy work schedule Paton served his profession on numerous councils and committees. The first of these was as chairman of the Association of Consulting Engineers between 1949 and 1950, an association of which he was made an honorary member in 1984.[15] Paton served on the council of the Institution of Civil Engineers from 1954 to 1959 and again from 1961 to 1966.[13] He was elected vice president of that institution, a position he filled from 1966 to 1970 when he was elected president.[13][16] Whilst serving as president he started New Civil Engineer magazine to keep members up to date with civil engineering news.[15]

From 1960 to 1965 Paton was a board member of the

Council of Engineering Institutions from 1971 to 1972 and chairman for 1972 to 1973.[15] From 1974 to 1979 he was chairman of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food flood protection research committee.[13] Paton was also a member emeritus of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers and served as their president in 1980.[17]

Other honours

Paton was awarded many honours for his contributions to civil engineering. In 1952 he was made an honorary fellow of University College London and he was also a fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers.[15] Paton was made a fellow of the Royal Society in 1969 and served as one of its vice-presidents for the 1977–78 session.[15] Paton became one of the few practising engineers to have held that post.[4]

He was created a

Bristol University.[15]

References

  1. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/72205. (Subscription or UK public library membership
    required.)
  2. ^
    doi:10.1098/rsbm.2001.0024
    . p. 417
  3. ^ a b Lundy, Darryl, The Peerage, Person Page 2260, retrieved 24 October 2008
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oliver, Anthony (14 April 1999), "Obituary: Sir Angus Paton", The Independent
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Burdekin 2001, p. 418.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Burdekin 2001, p. 421.
  7. ^ a b c d e Burdekin 2001, p. 422.
  8. ^ a b c d e Burdekin 2001, p. 419.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Burdekin 2001, p. 420
  10. ^ "No. 41913". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1959. p. 47.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Burdekin 2001, p. 423.
  12. ^ a b c d Burdekin 2001, p. 424.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h Burdekin 2001, p. 425.
  14. ^ Royal Academy of Engineering, Schemes for Professional Engineers, archived from the original on 28 August 2008, retrieved 24 October 2008
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h Burdekin 2001, p. 426.
  16. ^ Watson 1988, p. 254.
  17. ^ Watson 1989, p. 173.
  18. ^ "No. 45984". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 May 1973. p. 6473.
  19. ^ "No. 46127". The London Gazette. 13 November 1973. p. 13485.
Professional and academic associations
Preceded by
President of the Institution of Civil Engineers

November 1970 – November 1971 		Succeeded by

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