Bernard Paget

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General Sir Bernard Paget

Sir Bernard Charles Tolver Paget GCB , DSO , MC (born September 15, 1887 in Oxford , † February 16, 1961 in Petersfield , Hampshire ) was a British general .

Education and family

Born the son of the theologian Francis Paget , he was descended on his father's side from the surgeon James Paget . Paget received his education at Shrewsbury School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst , which he attended between 1905 and 1907. On February 7, 1918, he married Winifred Nora Paget in London . With her he had two sons. His younger son, Tony , died in 1945 during the Battle of the Reichswald . His older son Julian also entered the military, served 27 years with the Coldstream Guards and was named Gentleman Usher in 1972.

Military career

Sir Bernard Paget, 1942

After completing his training, he joined the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry Regiment in November 1907 . In 1910 he was promoted to lieutenant . After the outbreak of World War I , he was transferred to France in May 1915 . In November of the same year he was awarded the Military Cross . He also received the Distinguished Service Order in January 1918 . During the war, he was honored four times for bravery and wounded five times. After he was promoted to brevet major in 1917 , he rose to major in 1924 and a year later to lieutenant colonel . From 1929 he held the rank of colonel and in 1930 took command of the Cowley Barracks in Oxford. Between 1932 and 1934 he taught at Staff College in Quetta before taking command of the 4th Indian Infantry Brigade between 1936 and 1937 .

Paget was promoted to major general in December 1937 and headed Staff College Camberley between 1938 and 1939 . In November 1939 he took command of the 18th Infantry Division , which he held until 1940. With the rank of lieutenant general , he commanded the British troops withdrawing from Åndalsnes . Paget was named general in July 1943 and was Commander-in-Chief of the 21st Army Group from June 1943 to December 1943 . In January 1944 he took over the Middle East Command in Cairo . In October 1946 he gave up command and retired. Between 1949 and 1956 Paget was the director of the Royal Hospital Chelsea . In March 1960 he briefly held the post of Deputy Lord Lieutenant in Southampton .

Awards (selection)

In addition to his awards, which he had received in World War I, Paget was elevated to personal nobility in 1941 as Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath . In addition, he was accepted into the Polish order Polonia Restituta and the Belgian Leopold order . He was also a member of the Norwegian Order of Saint Olav .

literature

  • Nick Smart: Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War . Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley 2005, ISBN 1-84415-049-6 .
  • Julian Tolver Paget: The crusading general. the life of General Sir Bernard Paget GCB DSO MC . Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley 2006, ISBN 1-84415-810-1 .

Web links

Commons : Bernard Paget  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Short biography of Julian Tolver Paget on paget.org.uk
  2. ↑ London Gazette . No. 28079, HMSO, London, November 12, 1907, p. 7582 ( PDF , accessed July 16, 2015, English).
  3. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 30111, HMSO, London, June 1, 1917, p. 5466 ( PDF , accessed July 16, 2015, English).
personal data
SURNAME Paget, Bernard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Paget, Bernard Charles Tolver (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British general
DATE OF BIRTH September 15, 1887
PLACE OF BIRTH Oxford
DATE OF DEATH February 16, 1961
Place of death Petersfield , Hampshire