Angus Paton facts for kids

Sir Thomas Angus Lyall Paton (born May 10, 1905 – died April 7, 1999) was a famous civil engineer from Jersey, a British island. He spent his whole career working for a company called Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, which his uncle helped start.

Angus Paton became an expert in building dams. He worked on many big projects around the world. During World War II, he helped build important structures for the war effort. After the war, he continued to work on huge projects like the Kariba Dam and the Aswan High Dam. He was recognized for his amazing work and was even made a knight in 1973.

Early Life and Education

Angus Paton was born on May 10, 1905, in Jersey, one of the Channel Islands. His father was a journalist, and his mother's family had a history in civil engineering. His uncle, Alexander Gibb, was a civil engineer who founded the company where Angus would later work.

When he was four, Angus and his family moved from Jersey. He went to school in France and Switzerland before returning to England in 1914, when World War I began. He lived in St Leonards-on-Sea for six years, right next door to his future wife, Joan Delme-Murray.

Angus went to Brunswick preparatory school and then Cheltenham College. He was a very good student, especially in math. Following his uncle's advice, he studied civil engineering at University College London (UCL). He even won a scholarship at just 17 years old. In 1925, he was the only student in his year to graduate with a top-level Bachelor of Science degree in engineering.

His Engineering Work

Starting His Career

After graduating, Angus Paton joined Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners in 1925. One of his first tasks was helping to design a new jetty (a pier for boats) for a power station. In 1927, he worked on building a dam in Maentwrog, North Wales.

He also helped build a wharf (a loading dock) in Burma for exporting lead. This wharf was strong enough to survive a big earthquake! In 1931, he traveled to Canada to study its ports and suggest improvements for the next 25 to 50 years. His ideas were so good that they were still used in the 1970s. From 1933 to 1936, he managed the construction of a large new brewery for Guinness in London. This was his biggest project at the time. By 1938, he became a partner in the engineering firm.

World War II Efforts

A caisson from one of the Mulberry harbours, used in the Normandy landings.

During World War II, Angus Paton played a key role in managing Gibb and Partners. The company took on many government projects. He designed and helped build several factories for making weapons. In 1940, he went to Turkey to build gun emplacements (places to put large guns) in the Dardanelles. However, the guns couldn't reach the site because of the war.

He also worked on a factory in South Wales that extracted magnesium from the sea. From 1943 to 1944, he oversaw the building of huge concrete blocks called caissons. These were used to create the Mulberry Harbours, which were temporary ports built to help the Allied forces land in Normandy after D-Day.

Post-War Projects and Dams

After the war, Angus Paton led economic surveys in Syria and Lebanon. These reports suggested ways to improve ports, water systems, irrigation, and build hydroelectric power stations.

Owen Falls Dam under construction in Uganda.

He became a world expert in hydroelectric power, which uses water to create electricity. From 1946 to 1955, he worked on the Owen Falls Hydroelectric Scheme in Uganda. This project was so big that it stopped the flow of the White Nile River for the first time ever!

His most famous project was the first stage of the Kariba Dam on the Zambezi River, between Zambia and Zimbabwe. This was the largest dam in the world when it was built. Angus visited the site 22 times! Even with severe floods, the dam was finished in 1960, costing less than expected. For his work on the Kariba Dam, he received a special honor called the Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George.

The impressive Kariba Dam.

Because of the Kariba Dam's success, his firm became involved in many other major dam projects. These included the Aswan High Dam in Egypt, the Indus Basin Project in Pakistan, and several dams in South Africa like the Hendrik Verwoerd Dam and the P.K. Le Roux Dam. He also supervised the building of the Tarbela Dam in Pakistan, completed in 1976.

In 1973, Angus Paton was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his great contributions to the construction industry. He retired in 1977 but continued to work as a senior consultant for a few more years.

Retirement and Legacy

Angus Paton officially retired in 1977 but still worked as a consultant until 1985. During this time, he worked on the James Bay Project, a huge hydroelectric project in Quebec, Canada.

He spent the last 20 years of his life in retirement in Jersey. Throughout his career, he visited 48 countries and spent over 3,000 days abroad. He helped his company grow from 400 employees to over 1,500 engineers working in 63 countries. He was also a leader in sharing British engineering knowledge around the world.

Angus Paton cared deeply about his profession. He served as President of the Institution of Civil Engineers from 1970 to 1971. He even started a magazine called New Civil Engineer to keep engineers updated. He also became President of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers.

In 1986, he created a special fund for the Royal Academy of Engineering. Because of this, the Academy now gives out the Sir Angus Paton Bursary every year to a student studying for a master's degree.

Angus Paton married Joan Delmé-Murray in 1933. They had two sons and two daughters. Joan passed away in 1964. Angus Paton died in St Helier, Jersey, on April 7, 1999, at the age of 93.

Images for kids

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  Maentwrog Dam