Thomas Paton

Who was Thomas Paton?

Sir Thomas Angus Lyall Paton CMG, FRS, BSc FASCE FIStructE MICE was a British civil engineer from Jersey. He was commonly known by his second name, Angus. 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 and the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers.