Sir Arthur Ford Hetherington (12 July 1911 – 16 February 2002) was the first Chairman of

British Gas Corporation British Gas (trading as Scottish Gas in Scotland) is an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It is the trading name of British Gas Services Limited and British Gas New Heating Limited, both subsidiaries of Centrica. Serving ...

.''Daily Telegraph'' 7 March 2002
Obituary Hetherington was born in Highgate, London, the son of Sir

Roger Gaskell Hetherington Sir Roger Gaskell Hetherington CB, OBE (10 February 1876 – 24 February 1952) was a British civil engineer and civil servant.. Life Roger Gaskell Hetherington was born in Sherborne, Dorset on 10 February 1876, the eldest son of William Lons ...

, and went to

Highgate School Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is an English co-educational, fee-charging, independent day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgate ...

. He studied

Natural Sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

and married Margaret Lacey on 19 July 1937.Anne Pimlott Baker, ‘Hetherington, Sir Arthur Ford (1911–2002)’,

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

, Oxford University Press, Jan 2006; online edn, May 200
accessed 8 Aug 2010
/ref> They had two children. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served in the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

and was awarded the

DSC DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

. After the war, he joined the gas industry, rising to Chairman of the Southern Gas Board. With the advent of

North Sea gas North Sea oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, comprising liquid petroleum and natural gas, produced from petroleum reservoirs beneath the North Sea. In the petroleum industry, the term "North Sea" often includes areas such as the Norwegian Sea and ...

, he moved to the

East Midlands Gas Board The area gas boards were created under the provisions of the Gas Act 1948 enacted by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government. The Act nationalised the British gas industry and also created the Gas Council. History From the early 19th century ...

to manage the introduction of natural gas to British industry and domestic consumers. Along with Sir

Denis Rooke Sir Denis Eric Rooke (2 April 1924 – 2 September 2008) was an English industrialist and engineer. Early life Denis Eric Rooke was born in New Cross, London, the younger son of Frederick George Rooke, a printer and travelling salesman, and hi ...

and Sir Henry Jones of the Gas Council, he was then responsible for combining the Gas Council and 12 separate gas boards into the

in 1973.''Historic Gas Times'' (December 2008) issue 57; ISSN 1475-617X "Sir Denis Rooke, A Tribute".

Knighthood

He was knighted in 1974 and was one of the founding Fellows of the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

. He was also Chairman of the British Standards Institute.

Family

On 19 July 1937, he married Margaret, the only daughter of Stephen Lacey and his wife Edith Hannay. The Laceys had been in the gas industry for two generations. They had one son and one daughter.

Death

He died 16 February 2002 at his home in Connaught Square,

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hetherington, Arthur 1911 births 2002 deaths British chief executives in the energy industry People educated at Highgate School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Knights Bachelor Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Businesspeople from London Fleet Air Arm personnel of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) 20th-century English businesspeople