Background
Hetherington was born in Highgate, London, the son of Roger Gaskell Hetherington, and went to Highgate School.
Hetherington was born in Highgate, London, the son of Roger Gaskell Hetherington, and went to Highgate School.
He studied Natural Sciences at Trinity College, Cambridge and married Margaret Lacey on 19 July 1937. During the Second World War he served in the Fleet Air Arm and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
They had two children. After the war, he joined the gas industry, rising to Chairman of the Southern Gas Board. With the advent of North Sea Gas, he moved to the East Midlands Gas Board to manage the introduction of natural gas to British industry and domestic consumers.
Along with Denis Rooke and Sir Henry Jones of the Gas Council, he was then responsible for combining the Gas Council and 12 separate gas boards into the British Gas Corporation in 1973.
He was knighted in 1974 and was one of the founding Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering. He was also Chairman of the British Standards Institute.
The Lacey"s had been in the gas industry for two generations. He died 16 February 2002 at his home in Connaught Square, Westminster, London.