Angus Paton

Sir Thomas Angus Lyall Paton (10 May 1905 – 7 April 1999) was a British civil engineer from Jersey. Paton was born into a family that had founded the civil engineering firms of Easton, Gibb & Son and Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners and he would spend his entire professional career working for the latter. Following his graduation from University College London one of his first jobs was the construction of a dam in Maentwrog in Wales. 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 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, Turkey and of caissons for the Mulberry Harbours used after the 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 Lebanon and one on the possibility of extending railways from Northern Rhodesia to neighbouring countries. From 1946, Paton worked almost exclusively on hydroelectric projects, beginning with the Owen Falls Hydroelectric Scheme in Uganda. He also worked on the Kariba Dam in Zambia and Zimbabwe, 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, the Aswan High Dam, the Hendrik Verwoerd Dam, the 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, was born on the island of Jersey in the Channel Islands on 10 May 1905. His father, Thomas Lyall Paton, was a journalist and author. His mother, Janet, was the daughter of Easton Gibb, founder of Easton Gibb & Son, a firm of civil engineering contractors. His uncle on his mother's side, Alexander Gibb, was also a civil engineer and had founded Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, where Paton would spend his professional career. On Alexander Gibb's advice Paton read for a degree in civil engineering at University College London (UCL), where he had won a scholarship at the age of 17. In 1927 he worked on a dam at Maentwrog in North Wales and between 1932 and 1933 was resident engineer on the Glenlee portion of the Galloway hydro-electric power scheme. Paton was seconded to the Rangoon Port Trust in 1930 to construct a wharf for the export of lead from Burma. The report's findings continued to be in use until the 1970s. Whilst in Turkey he was contracted to build emplacements to contain guns from mothballed battleships in the Dardanelles. 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. In 1955 he became a senior partner in Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners upon the death of Alistair Gibb in a polo accident. Following the success of this project Paton was retained to build a third, smaller dam, the Spioenkop Dam, which was finished in 1972. During this time he worked on the James Bay Project, a large hydroelectric and infrastructure development in Quebec, Canada. Paton married on 7 June 1933 to Joan with whom he raised two daughters and two sons. Whilst serving as president he started New Civil Engineer 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 of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and from 1964 to 1975 he served on the council of the Construction Industry Research and Information Association.

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. 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 (DSc) in engineering from the University of London in 1977. In 1978 he was made an honorary fellow of Imperial College London and received another honorary DSc in engineering from Bristol University.