Wellesley Lyndoch Henry Paget was born on 2nd March 1858 in Belgaum, India. The sixth of nine children – all boys – his parents were Leopold and Georgina Paget. Leopold was a Colonel in the Royal Artillery, and Wellesley was always destined to follow a military career.

The young Wellesley was schooled at Wellington College, Sandhurst and, went straight into the army: the 1881 census records him as being a Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery, based at the barracks in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. While a baptism record confirms the location of his birth, Wellesley may have been prone to embellishment – the census record suggests he was born on board the ship HMS Charlotte, off Goa in the East Indies.

On 29th February 1888, Wellesley married Isabelle Swire, a merchant’s daughter from Liverpool. The couple made their vows in All Saints’ Church, Leighton Buzzard, presumably not far from where Lieutenant Paget was then based. The couple went on to have two children, Leo and Mary.

[Wellesley] became Adjutant of the Royal Horse Artillery in 1895… He served in the South African War, where he commanded the 2nd Brigade Division, Royal Field Artillery, and took part in the relief of Ladysmith and operations in Natal and in the Transvaal. He took command of the A Battery (the Chestnut Troop), Royal Horse Artillery, in 1900 and went on service with them in the North-East Transvaal. He was mentioned three times in dispatches for his services in South Africa, was promoted Brevet-Lieutenant-Colonel, and received the Queen’s Medal with six clasps.

Somerset Standard: Friday 21st June 1918

The now Major Paget returned to Britain, and set up home with Isabelle in Dorchester, Dorset. They lived comfortably in a villa in Cornwall Road, and had four servants – a nurse, a cook and two housemaids – to tend their needs.

Leo was sent away to school, and followed his father – and grandfather – into the army. He joined the Rifle Brigade, while his family moved to pastures new. By 1911, Wellesley and Isabelle had moved to Ireland, settling in the village of Ballyellis, near Mallow in County Cork. Again, the family had a retinue of staff, including a teacher for Mary, a cook, a kitchen maid, parlour maid and two housemaids.

Despite being in his fifties when war was declared in 1914, Wellesley stepped up again to play his part. With the rank of Brigadier General, he was again mentioned twice in dispatches for his actions, and was awarded the Companion of the Order of Bath in 1914, and made Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George in the King’s Birthday Honours the following year.

By 1916, Wellesley seems to have taken a step back from military life. The Pagets moved to Somerset, setting up home in North Cheriton, near Wincanton. The Brigadier General kept himself busy, however, and, in 1917, was appointed Agricultural Commissioner for Somerset.

At this point, Wellesley Lyndoch Henry Paget’s trail goes cold. He passed away at his home on 11th June 1918, at the age of 60 years old. He was laid to rest in the North Cheriton Cemetery, not far from where his widow still lived.

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