Lived at Lyttleton, New Zealand. An able seaman, Royal Navy, during Scott's Discovery Expedition when he was an able seaman in the relief ship Morning; and an able seaman in Shackleton's Nimrod Expedition. Again served as an able seaman with the ship's party during Scott's Terra Nova expedition. Boatswain in Aurora during 1914-16 and served in Aurora during the relief of the Ross Sea party in 1917. Died in Aurora in 1917.
Bronze Polar Medal: No Clasp, Antarctic 1907-09, Antarctic 1917
Silver Polar Medal: Antarctic 1910-13, Antarctic 1914-16
Expedition: British Antarctic Expedition 1902-04, Sir Ernest Shackleton's Furthest South Expedition in Nimrod 1907-09, British Antarctic Expedition 1910-13, Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1914-16, Aurora Antarctic Relief Expedition 1917
(Bronze Medal was reported in 1998 to have the 1907-09 clasp detached and no 1917 clasp. However, with five of them, Paton had more Polar Medal awards than anyone else.)*

*W. Poulsom and J. Myers, British Polar Exploration and Research: A Historical and Medallic Record with Biographies 1818-1999, London, Savannah, 2000, p.603.