GEORGE THOMAS PAGET

'George Thomas Paget' was born in 1899 in South Wales, the second son of George and Rose Paget of 5 Duck Row, Bryn Margam.
His parents were born and grew up in Midsomer Norton Somerset, England and moved to South Wales around 1895 to work in the expanding coal mining industry.
In 1909 George lived at 4 Meadow Row, Bryn, near Maesteg, Glamorgan, South Wales and in 1913 aged 14, he became a coal miner.
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914 and motivated by the overwhelming tide of patriotism, [1] George enlisted in the British Army. He joined the 18th (Service) Battalion (2nd Glamorgan) Welsh Regiment . Although the exact date of his joining is not clear, the battalion was raised as a ‘Bantam’ battalion in Cardiff and moved to Porthcawl in January 1915.
Bantam battalions were so called, as men who did not meet the requirements for height and size were allowed to enlist as a result of their willingness to serve. It is likely that George was able to hide his age and pass himself off as an undersized adult.
Training of 18th Battalion continued through the Summer of 1915 in Prees Heath, Shropshire, England and then, in September 1915, the battalion were moved to Aldershot, Hampshire, England.
Between the 1st – 9th June 1916, the 18th battalion landed in France. George was 17 years old.
As part of the 40th Infantry Division (United Kingdom) of the British Army, his battalion were deployed on the Western Front and between June and late October 1916, on the front near Loos.
It is unclear as to exactly where George was deployed, but it is noted in the Remembrance Book for the Maesteg War Memorial,[2] that Private George Thomas Paget 37915 18th Battalion Welsh Regiment, died of wounds 19th July 1916 and is buried in grave No.2 Billy Montigny Communal Cemetery, Pas de Calais France. It is unknown how and when George was captured and wounded
At the time if his death, Billy Montigny was well behind the German front line. French sources detail that three commonwealth soldiers are buried in the communal cemetery who died in World War I[3]. Two of these died in captivity, one of whom, was George. (''Monuments in Billy-Montigny'')[4]

Contents

External links

External links

★ http://www.iwm.org.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.2872

★ http://www.1914-1918.net/40div.htm

★ http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=270002

★ http://www.17thwelsh.ukf.net/Root_Pages/bantams.htm