Former chairman of Noble Denton has died

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Mar 13, 2001

The ex-chairman and the original driving force behind the Noble Denton group passed away on Sunday evening 4 March 2001.

The ex-chairman and the original driving force behind the Noble Denton group passed away on Sunday evening 4 March 2001.

Dr Tony Denton was born in Barnsley in 1937, and educated at the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield.

With a family history in the mining industry, he was destined for a career in engineering from an early age.

In 1955 he became Savile Scholar at Downing College, Cambridge, where he obtained Honours in the Mechanical Sciences Tripos.

Following a graduate apprenticeship, he obtained a doctorate at Imperial College, London, carrying out research into residual stresses, and later joined the staff of the Mechanical Engineering Department as a lecturer.

In 1960 he formed an association with Captain W D (David) Noble which lasted for many years and became a significant force in the offshore energy and marine industries.

Tony initially provided the engineering back-up to David Noble in a unique partnership which combined engineering excellence with many years of marine expertise.

Their organisation went on to become the marine and engineering consultants Noble Denton International.

Tony became Managing Director in 1977, and Chairman in 1981.

His work in the offshore oil industry covered the very early days of the development of the North Sea.

The oil industry had made considerable strides in offshore development in the Gulf of Mexico, the Arabian Gulf and the Far East, but the hostile waters of the North Sea provided a more severe test.

The interaction between offshore structures, particularly mobile rigs, and their environment is a complex one, and Tony was one of the pioneers who not only gained an understanding of the problems, but also gained the confidence of the industry that he knew some of the answers.

The principles and standards proposed by Tony Denton and David Noble are still largely valid today, although refined and assisted by greatly enlarged statistical data and vastly improved computational techniques.

During Tony+s career he was involved in many significant strides in offshore development, including the earliest trans-oceanic towages of mobile drilling platforms.

He was on board the first platform to drill in the North Sea, when it went on its first location, and went on to be involved with most of the significant offshore developments of the twentieth century.

Tony's contribution to offshore engineering innovation was recognised by his election as Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, of which he was Vice President in 1992-1995, and as President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1993-1994.

He also held Fellowships in the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, The City and Guilds of London Institute, and the Institute of Directors.

He was a Freeman of the City of London.

He was appointed a CBE for Services to Engineering in 1997.

He retired as Chairman of the Noble Denton Group in 1997, and until shortly before his death was active as a senior consultant, particularly in marine litigation cases.

Outside his professional career, he had long term interests in rugby football, motor racing, classical music, fine wines and hill walking.