Thomas Paton
Encyclopedia
Sir Thomas Angus Lyall Paton CMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....

, FRS, BSc FASCE
American Society of Civil Engineers
The American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...

 FIStructE
Institution of Structural Engineers
The Institution of Structural Engineers is a professional body for structural engineering based in the United Kingdom. It has 27,000 members in 105 countries. The Institution provides professional accreditation for structural engineers...

 MICE
Institution of Civil Engineers
Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineering. Like its early membership, the majority of its current members are British engineers, but it also has members in more than 150...

 (10 May 1905–7 April 1999) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...

 from Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...

. Paton was born into a family which had founded the civil engineering firms of Easton, Gibb & Son
Easton, Gibb & Son
Easton, Gibb & Son was a Scottish engineering firm, specialising in public works projects.In 1900, Alexander Gibb became the firm's chairman and managing director, taking over from his father. Under his chairmanship, it was responsible for the construction of Rosyth Naval Dockyard, beginning before...

 and Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners
Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners
Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners was a British engineering consultancy initially based in Westminster, London until 1974 when it relocated to Reading, Berkshire.The firm was founded by Scottish engineer, Sir Alexander Gibb in 1922....

 and would spend his entire professional career working for the latter. Following his graduation from University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...

 one of his first jobs was the construction of a dam in Maentwrog
Maentwrog
Maentwrog is a village and community in the Welsh county of Gwynedd, lying in the Vale of Ffestiniog, within the Snowdonia National Park. The River Dwyryd runs alongside the village...

 in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. Paton later became an expert on dams and much of his career was devoted to their construction. In 1931 he undertook an economic survey of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 which recommended a programme of works for its port system, this report was still being used into the 1970s. During the Second World War Paton was involved with the construction of gun emplacements in the Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...

, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 and of caissons
Caisson (engineering)
In geotechnical engineering, a caisson is a retaining, watertight structure used, for example, to work on the foundations of a bridge pier, for the construction of a concrete dam, or for the repair of ships. These are constructed such that the water can be pumped out, keeping the working...

 for the Mulberry Harbour
Mulberry harbour
A Mulberry harbour was a British type of temporary harbour developed in World War II to offload cargo on the beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy....

s used after the Invasion of Normandy.

After the 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 Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

 and one on the possibility of extending railroads from Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...

 to neighbouring countries. From 1946 Paton worked almost exclusively on hydroelectric projects, beginning with the Owen Falls Hydroelectric Scheme
Nalubaale Power Station
Nalubaale Power Station, often known by its old name, Owen Falls Dam, is a hydroelectric power station across the White Nile near to its source at Lake Victoria in Uganda...

 in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

. He also worked on the Kariba Dam
Kariba Dam
The Kariba Dam is a hydroelectric dam in the Kariba Gorge of the Zambezi river basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is one of the largest dams in the world, standing tall and long.- Construction :...

 in Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....

 and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

, which was the largest dam in the world when built and for which he was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George. He was also involved with the Indus Basin Project
Indus Basin Project
The Indus Basin Project is a water control project that resulted from a treaty, Indus Waters Treaty, signed between India and Pakistan in 1960 that guaranteed that Pakistan would receive water from the Indus River independent from upstream control by India....

, the Aswan High Dam, the Hendrik Verwoerd Dam, the P.K. Le Roux Dam, the Spioenkop Dam
Spioenkop Dam
Spioenkop Dam impounds the Tugela River in KwaZulu-Natal. It is located within a nature reserve by the same name. The dam was commissioned in 1973, has a capacity of , and a surface area of , the dam wall is high....

 and the Tarbela Dam
Tarbela Dam
Tarbela Dam on the Indus River in Pakistan is the second largest dam in the world by structural volume. It is located in Haripur District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, about northwest of Islamabad.The dam is high above the riverbed. The dam forms the Tarbela Reservoir, with a surface area of approximately...

. 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
Institution of Civil Engineers
Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineering. Like its early membership, the majority of its current members are British engineers, but it also has members in more than 150...

 and the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers
Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers
The Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers was founded in 1771, and was originally known as the Society of Civil Engineers, being renamed following its founder's death...

.

Early life

Paton was born on the island of Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...

 in the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...

 on the 10 May 1905. His father, Thomas Lyall Paton, was a journalist and author; and his mother, Janet, was the daughter of Easton Gibb, founder of Easton, Gibb & Son
Easton, Gibb & Son
Easton, Gibb & Son was a Scottish engineering firm, specialising in public works projects.In 1900, Alexander Gibb became the firm's chairman and managing director, taking over from his father. Under his chairmanship, it was responsible for the construction of Rosyth Naval Dockyard, beginning before...

, a firm of civil engineering contractors. His uncle on his mothers side, Alexander Gibb
Alexander Gibb
Brigadier-General Sir Alexander Gibb GBE CB FRS was a Scottish civil engineer.Gibb was born in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, the son of the civil engineer, Alexander Easton Gibb, and the grandson of John Gibb, a founder member of the Institution of Civil Engineers...

, was also a civil engineer; and had founded Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners
Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners
Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners was a British engineering consultancy initially based in Westminster, London until 1974 when it relocated to Reading, Berkshire.The firm was founded by Scottish engineer, Sir Alexander Gibb in 1922....

, with whom Paton would spend his professional career. Paton left Jersey with his family in 1909 and spent a year in England before being sent to a school in Boulogne-sur-Mer
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and then Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...

, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. He returned to England at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. He spent the next six years living in St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea is part of Hastings, East Sussex, England, lying immediately to the west of the centre. The original part of the settlement was laid out in the early 19th century as a new town: a place of elegant houses designed for the well-off; it also included a central public garden, a...

 in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

 where he lived next door to his future wife, Joan Delme-Murray.

Paton spent four years at Brunswick preparatory school
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...

 in Haywards Heath
Haywards Heath
-Climate:Haywards Heath experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Rail:Haywards Heath railway station is a major station on the Brighton Main Line...

, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

 before studying at Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College is a co-educational independent school, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.One of the public schools of the Victorian period, it was opened in July 1841. An Anglican foundation, it is known for its classical, military and sporting traditions.The 1893 book Great...

. He was a good student, which he put down to an excellent maths teacher, a good memory and being "not much good at games". On Alexander Gibb's advice Paton read for a degree in civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...

 at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...

 (UCL), where he had won a scholarship at the age of 17. Whilst at UCL Paton earned half-colours for long distance running and became the only student to graduate with a first class honours Bachelor of Sciences degree in engineering in 1925.

Post-graduation

Upon graduation Paton joined Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, which had been founded in 1922. One of his first jobs there was to assist with the design of a new jetty
Jetty
A jetty is any of a variety of structures used in river, dock, and maritime works that are generally carried out in pairs from river banks, or in continuation of river channels at their outlets into deep water; or out into docks, and outside their entrances; or for forming basins along the...

 for Barking Power Station
Barking Power Station
Barking Power Station refers to a series of power stations at former and current sites within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in east London. The original power station site, of the coal-fired A, B and C stations, was at River Road, Creekmouth, on the north bank of the River Thames....

. In 1927 he worked on a dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

 at Maentwrog
Maentwrog
Maentwrog is a village and community in the Welsh county of Gwynedd, lying in the Vale of Ffestiniog, within the Snowdonia National Park. The River Dwyryd runs alongside the village...

 in North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...

 and between 1932 and 1933 was resident engineer on the Glenlee
Glenlee
Glenlee may refer to:*Glenlee, California* Glenlee, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland* Glenlee hydro-electric power station, a part of the Galloway hydro-electric power scheme*Glenlee, New South Wales*Thomas Miller, Lord Glenlee*Glenlee...

 portion of the Galloway hydro-electric power scheme
Galloway hydro-electric power scheme
The Galloway hydro-electric power scheme is a network of dams and hydro-electric power stations in Galloway, south west Scotland. It was built between 1930 and 1936....

. Paton was seconded to the Rangoon Port Trust in 1930 to construct a wharf for the export of Lead from Burma. This wharf survived a serious earthquake on 5 May 1930 and was opened on 20 February 1931. On 10 April 1931 Paton sailed to Canada to undertake a survey of its ports and outline the additional facilities that would be required in the next 25–50 years. He was assisted in this for six weeks by Ralph Freeman who had designed the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic...

. The report was issued on 15 January 1932 but was not implemented until 1935 with the election of William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...

 as Prime Minister of Canada
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...

. The report's findings continued to be in use until the 1970s. Paton was responsible for the construction of a new brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....

 for Guinness
Guinness
Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...

 in Park Royal
Park Royal
Park Royal is an area in northwest London, UK. It is the largest industrial and business park in London, occupying about , and is promoted commercially by the Park Royal Partnership...

, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 from October 1933 to October 1936. 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. Paton also built industrial and trading estates in Wales, West Cumberland and London. He was made a partner in the firm in 1938.

Second World War

During the Second World War the running of Gibb and Partners fell largely to Paton and James Guthrie Brown. Gibb and Partners gained a large number of government contracts and within a few weeks of the start of the war in September 1939 the workforce increased by 2000. Paton designed and sited several Royal Ordnance Factories; and in March 1940 travelled to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 to construct an iron and steel works there. Whilst in Turkey he was contracted to build emplacements
Bunker
A military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...

 to contain guns from mothballed
Reserve fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....

 battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

s in the Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...

. The construction of the emplacements was completed but the guns would later be prevented from reaching the site by the Axis occupation of Greece. Paton made his way back to Britain via Greece, Italy and France and arrived home two days prior to the Italian declaration of war against the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...

 on 10 June 1940. He also constructed a plant at Barry in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...

 for the extraction of Magnesium Hydroxide
Magnesium hydroxide
Magnesium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Mg2. As a suspension in water, it is often called milk of magnesia because of its milk-like appearance. The solid mineral form of magnesium hydroxide is known as brucite....

 from the sea, a turbine factory for British Thomson-Houston Company
British Thomson-Houston
British Thomson-Houston was a British engineering and heavy industrial company, based at Rugby, Warwickshire, England. They were known primarily for their electrical systems and steam turbines. They were merged with the similar Metropolitan-Vickers company in 1928, but the two maintained their own...

 and a £7 million underground aircraft engine factory. From 1943-44 Paton supervised the construction, in London Docks
London Docks
The London Docks were one of several sets of docks in the historic Port of London. They were constructed in Wapping downstream from the City of London between 1799 and 1815, at a cost exceeding £5½ million. Traditionally ships had docked at wharves on the River Thames, but by this time, more...

, of the precast concrete
Precast concrete
By producing precast concrete in a controlled environment , the precast concrete is afforded the opportunity to properly cure and be closely monitored by plant employees. Utilizing a Precast Concrete system offers many potential advantages over site casting of concrete...

 caissons
Caisson (engineering)
In geotechnical engineering, a caisson is a retaining, watertight structure used, for example, to work on the foundations of a bridge pier, for the construction of a concrete dam, or for the repair of ships. These are constructed such that the water can be pumped out, keeping the working...

 required for the construction of Mulberry Harbour
Mulberry harbour
A Mulberry harbour was a British type of temporary harbour developed in World War II to offload cargo on the beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy....

s following the Normandy Landings. From 1944-45 he was in charge of the rebuilding of houses damaged by V2 rockets in the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 districts of Wanstead
Wanstead
Wanstead is a suburban area in the London Borough of Redbridge, North-East London. The main road going through Wanstead is the A12. The name is from the Anglo-Saxon words wænn and stede, meaning "settlement on a small hill"....

 and Woodford.

Post-war

In 1945 Paton began construction of a wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....

 factory at Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...

 and a Rayon
Rayon
Rayon is a manufactured regenerated cellulose fiber. Because it is produced from naturally occurring polymers, it is neither a truly synthetic fiber nor a natural fiber; it is a semi-synthetic or artificial fiber. Rayon is known by the names viscose rayon and art silk in the textile industry...

 factory at Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus , known locally and colloquially as "Carrick", is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is located on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,201 at the 2001 Census and takes its name from Fergus Mór mac Eirc, the 6th century king...

, both jobs were completed in 1951. In 1946 Paton was put in charge of an economic survey of Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

 which required him to traverse the country by aircraft and car. The report, issued in 1947, recommended port, water infrastructure and irrigation improvements and the construction of a hydroelectric power station on the Euphrates River. Paton undertook a similar survey in Lebanon from 1947 to 1948. He was also involved in a report on the possibility of running a railroad from Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...

 to Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...

, Mtwara and Nyasaland
Nyasaland
Nyasaland or the Nyasaland Protectorate, was a British protectorate located in Africa, which was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Since 1964, it has been known as Malawi....

.
Paton worked extensively in the field of hydroelectric power and became regarded as a world authority on the matter. From 1946 to 1955 he worked on the Owen Falls Hydroelectric Scheme
Nalubaale Power Station
Nalubaale Power Station, often known by its old name, Owen Falls Dam, is a hydroelectric power station across the White Nile near to its source at Lake Victoria in Uganda...

 in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

 which resulted in the complete stoppage of the White Nile
White Nile
The White Nile is a river of Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile from Egypt, the other being the Blue Nile. In the strict meaning, "White Nile" refers to the river formed at Lake No at the confluence of the Bahr al Jabal and Bahr el Ghazal rivers...

 for the first time in history. Following the completion of Owen Falls Dam, Paton worked on the first stage of the Kariba Dam
Kariba Dam
The Kariba Dam is a hydroelectric dam in the Kariba Gorge of the Zambezi river basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is one of the largest dams in the world, standing tall and long.- Construction :...

 on the Zambezi River, of which he said that it was the "highlight of [his] professional career". Paton made 22 visits to the site, of a total duration of 267 days. The project itself was, at 420 ft high, the largest dam built until then and, despite some of the worst floods on record hitting the project, was completed in 1960 at £5 million under budget. In recognition of his work on the Kariba project Paton was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George on 1 January 1960. 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
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

.

Paton was later involved in the second stage of the Kariba Project and in the Aswan High Dam project. In 1955 he became a senior partner in Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners upon the death of Alistair Gibb in a polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...

 accident. 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
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...

 Indus Basin Project
Indus Basin Project
The Indus Basin Project is a water control project that resulted from a treaty, Indus Waters Treaty, signed between India and Pakistan in 1960 that guaranteed that Pakistan would receive water from the Indus River independent from upstream control by India....

. This included the construction of the Mangla Dam
Mangla Dam
The Mangla Dam is located on the Jhelum River in the Mirpur District of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. It is the sixteenth largest dam in the world. It was built from 1961 to 1967 with funding from the World Bank. The project was designed and supervised by Binnie & Partners of London, and it was built...

 between 1962 and 1968.

In 1962 Gibb & Partners was one of two firms chosen (with Coyne et Bellier) by the South African government to build two dams on the Orange River
Orange River
The Orange River , Gariep River, Groote River or Senqu River is the longest river in South Africa. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean...

. The first to be constructed was the Hendrik Verwoerd Dam which was officially opened in March 1972. The second, the P.K. Le Roux Dam, was finished in 1977. Following the success of this project Paton was retained to build a third, smaller dam, the Spioenkop Dam
Spioenkop Dam
Spioenkop Dam impounds the Tugela River in KwaZulu-Natal. It is located within a nature reserve by the same name. The dam was commissioned in 1973, has a capacity of , and a surface area of , the dam wall is high....

, which was finished in 1972. Paton was also involved with the tunnelling and underground powerhouse for the Drakensberg Pumped Storage Scheme
Drakensberg Pumped Storage Scheme
Construction on the Drakensberg Pumped Storage Scheme started in 1974 and was completed by 1981.Four dams are involved in the scheme; the Driekloof Dam , the Kilburn Dam, the Woodstock Dam and the Driel Barrage. Electricity generation equipment is located between Driekloof Dam and Kilburn Dam...

. Paton was retained by the World Bank once more in 1967 to supervise the construction of the Tarbela Dam
Tarbela Dam
Tarbela Dam on the Indus River in Pakistan is the second largest dam in the world by structural volume. It is located in Haripur District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, about northwest of Islamabad.The dam is high above the riverbed. The dam forms the Tarbela Reservoir, with a surface area of approximately...

 in Pakistan, which was completed in 1976. He also worked on the modernisation of the Royal Mint
Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the body permitted to manufacture, or mint, coins in the United Kingdom. The Mint originated over 1,100 years ago, but since 2009 it operates as Royal Mint Ltd, a company which has an exclusive contract with HM Treasury to supply all coinage for the UK...

 which involved the move from its 600-year home at Tower Hill
Tower Hill
Tower Hill is an elevated spot northwest of the Tower of London, just outside the limits of the City of London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Formerly it was part of the Tower Liberty under the direct administrative control of Tower...

 to Llantrisant
Llantrisant
Llantrisant is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the River Ely and the Afon Clun. The town's name translates as The Parish of the Three Saints. The three saints in question are St Illtyd, St Gwynno and St...

 in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 in time for decimalisation
Decimal Day
Decimal Day was the day the United Kingdom and Ireland decimalised their currencies.-Old system:Under the old currency of pounds, shillings and pence, the pound was made up of 240 pence , with 12 pence in a shilling and 20 shillings in a...

 in 1971.

Retirement

Paton retired from the firm in 1977 but worked for them again as a senior consultant between 1979 and 1985. During this time he worked on the James Bay Project
James Bay Project
The James Bay Project is a series of hydroelectric development with a combined installed capacity of over 16,000 megawatts built since 1974 for Hydro-Québec by the on the La Grande and other rivers of Northern Quebec....

, a large hydroelectric and infrastructure development in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Paton spent the last twenty years of his life in retirement in Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...

 in the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...

. In his working life he had visited 48 countries and spent 3152 days abroad. 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. He was also largely responsible for leading the trend of exporting British technical expertise around the world.

Paton made an endowment
Financial endowment
A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution. The total value of an institution's investments is often referred to as the institution's endowment and is typically organized as a public charity, private foundation, or trust....

 to the Royal Academy of Engineering
Royal Academy of Engineering
-Overview: is the UK’s national academy of engineering. The Academy brings together the most successful and talented engineers from across the engineering sectors for a shared purpose: to advance and promote excellence in engineering....

 in 1986, as a result the Academy awards the Sir Angus Paton Bursary of £7000 annually to a masters student. Paton married on 7 June 1933 to Joan with whom he raised two daughters and two sons. Joan died on 7 January 1964, an event which spurred him to become more involved in his profession. Paton died at St Helier in Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...

 on 7 April 1999.

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. Paton served on the council of the Institution of Civil Engineers
Institution of Civil Engineers
Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineering. Like its early membership, the majority of its current members are British engineers, but it also has members in more than 150...

 from 1954 to 1959 and again from 1961 to 1966. He was elected vice president of that institution, a position he filled from 1966 to 1970 when he was elected president. Whilst serving as president he started New Civil Engineer
New Civil Engineer
New Civil Engineer is the weekly magazine of the Institution of Civil Engineers, the UK chartered body that oversees the practice of civil engineering in the UK. It is published by EMAP who acquired the title and editorial control from the ICE in 1995...

magazine to keep members up to date with civil engineering news.

From 1960 to 1965 Paton was a board member of the Hydraulics Research Station
Hydraulics Research Station
The Hydraulics Research Station was created by the UK Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in 1947. The Research Station was based in Wallingford, near Oxford. It was established to deal with “looser boundary” problems such as coastal erosion, flood protection and the silting and...

 of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research
Department of Scientific and Industrial Research
Several countries have organizations called the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, abbreviated DSIR.-United Kingdom:...

 and from 1964 to 1975 he served on the council of the Construction Industry Research and Information Association. Paton was also the British representative on the committee of the International Commission on Large Dams
International Commission on Large Dams
The International Commission on Large Dams, or ICOLD, The International Commission on Large Dams, or ICOLD, The International Commission on Large Dams, or ICOLD, The International Commission on Large Dams, or ICOLD, The International Commission on Large Dams, or ICOLD, The International Commission...

 between 1966 to 1973. From 1968 to 1970 he was chairman of the National Economic Development Council's
National Economic Development Council
The National Economic Development Council was a corporatist economic planning forum set up in the 1962 in the United Kingdom to bring together management, trades unions and government in an attempt to address Britain's relative economic decline. It was supported by the National Economic...

 working party on large industrial construction sites and from 1969 to 1974 was a member of the Natural Environment Research Council
Natural Environment Research Council
The Natural Environment Research Council is a British research council that supports research, training and knowledge transfer activities in the environmental sciences.-History:...

. Paton was vice-chairman of the Council of Engineering Institutions from 1971 to 1972 and chairman for 1972 to1973. From 1974 to 1979 he was chairman of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a United Kingdom government department created by the Board of Agriculture Act 1889 and at that time called the Board of Agriculture, and then from 1903 the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, and from 1919 the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries...

 flood protection research committee. Paton was also a member emeritus of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers
Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers
The Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers was founded in 1771, and was originally known as the Society of Civil Engineers, being renamed following its founder's death...

 and served as their president in 1980.

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
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...

 and he was also a fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers
Institution of Structural Engineers
The Institution of Structural Engineers is a professional body for structural engineering based in the United Kingdom. It has 27,000 members in 105 countries. The Institution provides professional accreditation for structural engineers...

 and the American Society of Civil Engineers
American Society of Civil Engineers
The American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...

. Paton was made a fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...

 in 1969 and served as one of its vice-presidents for the 1977-78 session. Paton became one of the few practising engineers to have held that post.

He was created a knight bachelor
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...

 in the Queen's Birthday Honours
Queen's Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the celebration of the Queen's Official Birthday in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen...

 of 1973 in recognition of his services to the construction industry. This knighthood was personally conferred upon him by Queen Elizabeth II on 7 November 1973. In 1976 Paton became a founding member of the Fellowship of Engineering and received an honorary Doctorate of Science
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...

 (DSc) in engineering from the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

 in 1977. In 1978 he was made an honorary fellow of Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...

 and received another honorary DSc in engineering from Bristol University.
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