Born on the 16th of March 1818, the son of a veteran of Waterloo, Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, and his second wife, Charlotte, formerly the wife of the Hon. Henry Wellesley (brother of the Duke of Wellington) and the daughter of Charles Sloane, 1st Earl Cadogan, and Mary Churchill.
Educated at Westminster School.
Two of his brothers were in the services:
Clarence Edward entered the Navy in 1827, serving at Navarino [during the Greek War of Independence] and in the Crimea. He was Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1869 and retired as Admiral in 1870.
Alfred Henry was Lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards in 1834 and then to the 7th Hussars. He was General on the retired list in 1881 and one-time Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal to the Queen.
[PB: In 2017, someone in the TV series Victoria declares that the young Queen must have a Paget in her household because there are Pagets in every Royal entourage. A young Paget ["Lord Alfred Paget"] is added to the household, where he engages in a protracted on-off romance with Robert Peel's Private Secretary, Edmund Drummond, with scenes between them including naked bathing and a passionate embrace ("Viewers were left in awe after the two men shared a kiss...(a)fter six episodes of hot anticipation", The Sun, 31.12.2017). Any validity or relevance? Probably not but might be worth checking.
Lord Alfred was George's youngest brother, a Liberal MP for Lichfield, Lieutenant in the Horse Guards, and Victoria's Chief Equerry 1846-1852. See e.g. Wikipedia: Lord Alfred Paget. This source names a wife and fourteen children.
Edward Drummond was shot by Daniel M'Naghten outside Peel's Whitehall house, an event which formed the dramatic centre of the series finale. In the TV programme, M'Naghten is insanely furious with Peel for repealing the Corn Laws. Drummond heroically throws himself in front of Peel, stops the bullet and dies instantly [I vaguely recollect he was holding rose petals?].
In reality, the assassination (in January 1843) took place 3 years before the Repeal (1846). Drummond was shot in the back after leaving Peel's home alone (perhaps mistaken for Peel). He did not die immediately but lingered for five more days. (His death is believed by some to have been the result of the poor medical treatment he received.) There is no evidence of any romantic relationship between Drummond and Alfred Paget, who did not become an Equerry until 3 years after Drummond's death and was in any case a couple of decades older.
The Radio Times article, which is mainly based on an interview with Leo Suter, who plays Edward Drummond in the series, "guides us through the dramatic series finale". He reviews the evidence, finds it wanting in every regard (summarised above), but nevertheless justifies the storyline on the grounds that there must surely have been gay people at that time, but we don't know about them, in which case this is just the sort of thing that would have happened. The article concludes:
Given how secretive Victorians had to be about homosexuality, there's no way to be 100% sure about Edward Drummond's sexual orientation — but there's no evidence that he was attracted to men or had any same-sex relationships....
But even if the real-life Drummond was actually straight, there is a certain truth to the storyline, Suter tells us.
"The point that's important to make is that — if they were gay — we would never know," he explains. "And of course there were gay people in that era, we just have much less record of that being the case and any evidence for it is highly coded and withheld.
"So there is a truth in it even if, for these particular characters, it's an extrapolation." [The source is e.g. Radio Times: What really happened to Edward Drummond? The tragic case of Robert Peel's Private Secretary, by Eleanor Bley Griffiths, 26.1.18. (Extrapolation? Gross falsification?).]
Related articles include Wikipedia: Edmund Drummond, Wikipedia: Daniel M'Naghten, which also includes a discussion of the "M'Naghten Rules" on criminal responsibility that grew out of this case, and Wikipedia: Corn Laws.
[PB: Was there also a half-brother of George Paget in the Navy, e.g. William? ]
Cornet, 1st Life Guards: 25th of July 1834.
Lieutenant, 1st Life Guards: 1st of December 1837.
Captain in the 4th Light Dragoons: 17th of August 1841.
Major, 4th Light Dragoons: 30th of January 1846.
Lieutenant-Colonel and assumed command of the Regiment: 26th of December 1846.
GP married his first cousin, Agnes Charlotte Paget, on the 27th of February 1854. She was 23 and he was 36. [check ages].
GP's father died in April 1854.
George Paget had sent in his papers for permission to retire from the service prior to the war being declared, but cancelled his application.
[PB: add info about passage to Crimea, and the Charge.]
Colonel: 20th of June 1854.
George Paget returned to England aboard the "Andes" on the 9th of November 1854.
His return to England was interpreted by many as cowardice. In January he was ordered back. [PB: By the Queen?]
"Passage. Horse Guards, 6th January 1855,
My Lord, — I am to intimate to your Lordship that passage has been ordered for you and your Batman on board her Majesty's ship "Princess Royal" and that you may embark immediately at Devonport or at Cork.
I am, etc. etc.,
James Simpson, AAG.
[To:] Lieut-General Lord George Paget, 4th Light Dragoons,
1 Old Burlington Street."
Accompanied by his new wife, he returned to the Crimea aboard the "Australia" (not the "Princess Royal") on the 23rd of February 1855, but this exposed him to even more invidious comment.
[PB: Helen Rappaport, No Place for Ladies, writes about this comment concerning his new wife's presence in the Crimea at some length. Add.]
LORD GEORGE PAGET.
To the Editor of the Times.
Sir, — I read with no little surprise in the Globe of Saturday last, that a pension of £100 a-year had been granted to Lord George Paget for distinguished services. I had previously seen his name early in the week in the list of those who had obtained the Companionship of the Bath, and I observed in the Times of yesterday, under the head of "Military Intelligence," that he is now placed in command of the Light Brigade of Cavalry in the Crimea. Will you allow me, sir, a very small space in your columns, that may look into some of the antecedents of the noble lord, and see how far they justify such accumulation of "honour, promotion, and reward?"
Lord G. Paget entered the army in 1834. His promotion, as might have been expected, was rapid; he becomes a major in the array in January, 1846; lieutenant-colonel (commanding the 4th Light Dragoons) in December of the same year; and colonel in June, 1854.
On the breaking out of the war he is employed for the first time on active service, goes to the Crimea in command of his regiment, is present (and only present, not under fire) at the battle of Alma, and led his regiment into action in the gallant affair at Balaklava. He then applies for leave of absence to England, and obtains it, not on the ground of ill-health, but with the express and avowed intention of selling out and leaving the army. On arriving in England, however, he finds that this will not do. Unless rumour very much belies the truth, the Queen herself gave him a hint on the subject, and, pressed on all hands, he is compelled reluctantly to return to the seat of war in the course of the spring, having deserted his troops and his duty during the horrors of last winter, and hazarded his reputation and his fair name in the opinion of all who were aware of the circumstances of the case.
Now, sir, such being the nature of Lord George's services, is it, or is it not a prostitution of the honour to enlist him among the Companions of the Bath? Is it not an insult to the service place him among the recipients of pensions for distinguished services ? Docs the simple fact of having led a regiment in the charge of Balaklava, brilliant though it was, justify either one or the other, still less both?
One method of ascertaining this is to compare Lord George's services with those of other officers, and with this view I turn to "Hart's Army List for 1855," and upon the very same page in which Lord George's name appears, and in which his services are summed up in this simple statement, "Commanded the 4th Light Dragoons at the Battle of Balaklava," occurs that of an officer to whose name is attached the following:
"Lieutenant Colonel served with the Light Dragoons throughout the campaign of 1843 in Affghanistan (medal) and was present at the forcing of the Khyber Pass, storming of the heights of Jugdulluck, action of Teezeen and Huftkotul, occupation of Cabul, storm and capture of Iztaliff. He served also in the Punjaub campaign of 1848-9, and was present at the affair of Ramnugger, the passage of Wuzerabad, on the 1st December, 1848, action of Sajoolapore, and battles of Chillianwallah (severely wounded) and Guzerat (medal, &c.)"
This officer is not a Companion of the Bath, or in possession, as far as I am aware, of a pension for distinguished services.
[PB: This [record] is in fact not that of a Lieutenant Colonel but Quarter-Master Crabtree, 3rd Light Dragoons, Hart's Army List, 1855, p..]
A few pages further on I find the following:
"Captain ______ served with the __ Light Dragoons throughout the campaign of 1842 In Affghanistan (medal), and was present at the forcing of the Khyber Pass, capture of Mamoon Khail, storming the heights o Jugdulluck, actions of Tczeen and Huftkotul, and occupation of Cabul. He was present in the action of Maharajpore (medal). He also served in the Sutlej campaign of 1845-6, including the battles of Moodkee, (charger killed), and Sobraon (medal and two clasps)."
No C.B.-ship. No pension. Again:
"Lieut.-Colonel served during the campaign of Affghanistan under Lord Keane, including the siege and capture of Ghuznee (medal); also at the battle of Maharajpore (medal); in the campaign on the Sutlej (medal), including the battles of Buddiwal and Aliwal, at which last he was severely wounded by a musket-shot while charging, with the squadron he commanded, a large body of infantry with three guns in their front, and which he broke through and dispersed, being the last the enemy's infantry which stood their ground."
No honours, no pension. Again:
" Lieut.-Colonel ______ served at the siege of Bhurtpore, and was a volunteer for the dismounted cavalry storming party. He served also in the action at Maharajpre (medal), and in the campaign on the Sutlej, including the battles of Buddiwal, Aliwal, and Sobraon. At Aliwal he commanded the right wing of the Lancers and subsequently the regiment, as also at Sobraon."
No pension, no honours. If it were necessary I could recite instance after instance of this description; and, still further, were I to go into the sentences of the officers of the Indian army, I should find no difficulty in bringing forward several well-known names of men whose services have been of the highest possible character influencing some of them, the issues of battles, and turning the fortunes of campaigns, but who have not obtained the distinction to which Lord George Paget's one charge appears to have entitled him.
But the more serious question, sir, still remains behind. Is Lord G. Paget a fit and proper person to be entrusted with the brigade of light cavalry, or is he not ? Does his reputation and performances justify such a command? Does any military man believe that if an occasion should arise where judgment, or skill, or coolness, or knowledge of the art of war is required, he should found equal to the crisis? I am a civilian, but I live much among military men. I have never heard but one opinion of my Lord George Paget — viz., "that he is utterly inefficient, and totally ignorant of his duties even commandant of a cavalry regiment," and not only so, but he is also reported to hold doctrines and opinions utterly at variance with the proper performance of his duties as soldier. [Meaning?]
If to such men as these brigades of the British army are to be entrusted, all I can say is, "God help Old England!" Whether we obtain success or not, one thing is certain, "we not deserve it."
ONE WHO IS BEGINNING TO DESPAIR OF HIS COUNTRY"
[Source: Waterford Mail, 7 August 1855, p.2, in BNA (accessed 27.1.2018).]
[PB: note use of historic present tense.]
[PB: In his 1895 account of the Charge, 762, John Linkon (or Lincoln), 13th Light Dragoons, praises Paget's "admirable coolness" and "wonderful foresight" at the guns. ADD.]
Campaign service
Colonel George Paget served the Eastern campaign of 1854-55, commanding the 4th Light Dragoons at the battle of the Alma and the Light Cavalry Charge at Balaclava. He was also present at the Siege and fall of Sebastopol and commanded the Light Cavalry at the battles of Inkerman and the Tchernya and on the Expedition to Eupatoria and operations thence under General D'Allonville.
Commanded the Cavalry Division for a while in 1855. (Medal and Clasps, Officer of the Legion of Honour, 4th Class, Sardinian Medal, Order of the Medjidie, 3rd Class, and the Turkish Medal)
In June 1856,a Charles Wood had written a letter to the Morning Post (12th of June 1856) praising Colonel Shewell, 8th Hussars for saving the remnant of the brigade" at Balaklava. Clearly stung, Colonel George Paget, 4th Light Dragoons, sent a tetchy reply.
This correspondence can be viewed in the entries for Colonel Shewell and Lieutenant Colonel De Salis, who communicated his own views upwards, but was robustly warned off communicating publically to the debate.
Major-General: 11th of November 1861.
Commanded the Sirhind Division of the Bengal Army: 24th of December 1862 — 1865.
Inspector-General of Cavalry: 1st of April 1865-1870.
Lieutenant-General: 28th of February 1871.
General: 1st of October 1877.
Colonel of the 7th Dragoon Guards: 28th of January 1868 — 6th of January 1874.
Colonel of the 4th Hussars: 7th of January 1874 until his death in 1880.
A Deed of Covenant exists concerning the purchase by Colonel Low from Lord Paget of the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the 4th Light Dragoons for a "Certain Sum", with Colonel Low and Captain George Brown agreeing to "repay Lord Paget any monies that he may be called upon to pay by the Government". This is known to be in the possession of an English medal collector [1987].
Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman and Sebastopol, the Turkish Medal, Officer of the Legion of Honour, 4th Class, Sardinian Medal and the 3rd Class Order of the Medjidie. Nominated a K.C.B. in 1871.
His son, Cecil Stratford, published his father's Crimean Journal (based mainly on his letters to his first wife) in March 1881 (after his father's death) in which he fully described his part in the Charge and his other experiences in the Crimea.
George Paget married twice.
Marriage [1] registered
George Augustus Frederick Paget married Agnes Charlotte Paget, March Quarter 1854, St James.
He married his first cousin, Agnes Charlotte, a daughter of Sir Arthur Paget, at St James, Piccadilly, on the 27th of February 1854.
Agnes's mother was Lady Augusta Jane, daughter of John Fane, Earl of Westmorland. She had previously been married to John Parker, 2nd Baron Boringdon, but they divorced, she and Arthur scandalously marrying within two days of the divorce becoming final in 1809.
There were two sons from this marriage: Cecil Stratford, born in Eccleston Square [Pimlico] in London in 1856, later a Captain in the 5th Battalion of the Royal Rifle Corps, died 1936, and Charles Angus, born in March 1858, died 1867.
Death registered
Agnes Charlotte Paget, March Quarter 1858, St George Hanover Square.
Agnes died in March 1858, shortly after giving birth to Charles Angus.
[PB: Charles himself only lived to the age of 9.]
The only published mention that can be found relating to her death comes from a short paragraph in The Times, 12th of March 1858:
"Death of Lady George Paget"
We lament to announce the premature demise of this accomplished lady, a few hours after an accouchement, to the inexpressible grief of her husband and a wide circle of friends.
Lady George was the daughter of the late Sir Arthur Paget, formerly Governor of Chelsea Hospital, and was married to her cousin, Lord George Paget, only in 1854."
George Paget's second marriage was to Louisa Elizabeth (1830-1914), daughter of Charles Fieschi Heneage, formerly of the 1st Life Guards and Gentleman Usher of the Privy Council. The wedding took place at Trinity Church, Chelsea, on the 6th of February 1861.
Marriage registered
George Augustus Frederick Paget married Louisa Charlotte Trepins Caroline Heneage, March Quarter 1861, Chelsea.
1861 Census
Frimshurst House, Ash, Surrey.
Lord George Paget, 43, General Army, born London.
Louisa Paget, 30, born Northampton.
Cecil Paget, 4, born London.
Charles Paget, 3, born London.
Others present include a visiting sister-in-law, 12 servants and their families.
1871 Census
19, Duke Street, Westminster.
Lord George Paget, aged 53, Lieut General in the Army, born London.
5 servants are also shown.
Death registered
George Augustus F. Paget, aged 62, September Quarter 1880, St George's Hanover Sq.
George Paget died unexpectedly, on the 30th of June 1880, at 1, Farm Street, Mayfair, London.
Extract from The Army and Navy Gazette, 3rd of July 1880:
"The death of Lord Paget was totally unexpected and the indisposition which terminated so fatally on Wednesday night only declared itself a few hours previously."
Extract from the Army and Navy Gazette, 10th of July 1880:
"The funeral of the late General Lord George Paget took place at Hampton Court [sic] on Tuesday morning.
The body was conveyed in a hearse and four from Berkeley House, Farm Street, Mayfair, to Hampton, arriving there at a quarter-past eleven o'clock. The friends and mourners arrived from London by train, reaching the church shortly after the hearse.
On the coffin being borne into the church the cocked hat and sword of the deceased were placed upon it, the deceased's valet walking in front carrying his dead master's decorations on a cushion.
Immediately after the coffin followed the mourners. [Then follows a list of those present.]
The service for the burial of the dead was most impressively read by the Revd. James Barrow, M.A., the Vicar of Hampton, who afterwards concluded the service at the grave.
The late lord's remains rest with those of his first wife, who was buried there on the 15th of March 1858.
The outer coffin was of polished oak, the brass plate on the lid bearing the following inscription:
'Major George Augustus Frederick Paget. K.C.B. Colonel of the 4th Hussars. Officer of the Legion of Honour and Knight of the Order of the Medjidie. Born March 16th 1818 — Died June 30th 1880.'"
Extract from the Surrey Comet, 10th of July 1880:
"Funeral of Lord George Paget
The funeral of this very distinguished soldier, who died on Wednesday after a very short illness, at his residence in Farm Street, Mayfair, took place on Tuesday at the Hampton Churchyard, the body being deposited in the same grave as that in which lie the remains of his first wife, Agnes Charlotte, the daughter of Sir Arthur and Lady Augusta Paget, who died in her 28th year in 1858 and also those of his youngest son, Charles Angus, who at the time of his death was only nine years old.
The coffin, which was of polished oak, with brass fittings, was brought down from town by road, and also accompanying the hearse was a mourning carriage containing two of the deceased's servants.
All of the deceased's friends and mourners came down by special train to Hampton Court, and then drove to the church-yard, where they awaited the arrival of the body.
Upon the coffin were the military hat and the orders and medals of the deceased earned in his country's cause. [Then follows a list of the family mourners and friends and a repeat of the details on the coffin breastplate.]
After the coffin had been lowered into the grave several beautiful wreaths were placed thereon."
He was buried in the churchyard of St. Mary the Virgin at Hampton. His grave is some 15-20 feet from the church door and by the side of the path going down by the side of the church towards the Vicarage.
The inscription on the erected memorial stone reads:
"To the memory of Agnes Charlotte, wife of Lord George Paget and daughter of Sir Arthur and Lady Augusta Paget. Born December *** 1830 — Died 10th March 1858."
[PB: I have seen her birthdate given as 25th December 1830. Underneath is a text which is now [1983] impossible to decipher.]
"And also of Charles Angus Paget. Born 3rd. March 1858 — Died 31st August 1867."
"And of General Lord George Augustus Frederick Paget, K.C.B., Colonel of the 4th Hussars. Officer of the Legion of Honour. Knight of the Order of the Medjidie. Born 16th March 1818 — Died 30th June 1880."
[There is another text under this, also now impossible to read.]
At the base of the grave there is a smaller stone with the inscription:
"In memory of James Henry Cecil Paget, infant son of Cecil and Mary Paget. Aged 4 months. Born August 10th 1886 — Died on Advent Sunday, November 28th 1886."
There are several leaded letters and figures missing from this particular inscription.
There is also another stone beside that of Lord Paget which implies by the very dilapidated condition of the lettering that other members of the Paget family are buried there. This would seem to be the grave of George Paget's first wife's father, mother, and two brothers.
Marriage registered
Louisa Charlotte T.C. Paget [2nd wife] married Arthur Algernon Capel [sic?], June Quarter 1881, Chelsea.
Following George Paget's death Louisa married (25th of April 1881) Arthur Capell, the 6th Earl of Essex (it was his third marriage). He died on the 11th of September 1892.
Louisa died on the 25th of January 1914 at the age of 83.
"Lord George Paget's Resting Place — Elusive No Longer", by Bert Gedin, April 1996, is a short, illustrated article about George Paget's grave in St Mary's, Hampton [PB: copy in archive].
There are two copies of George Paget's Crimean Journals in the EJBA but extensive extracts are available on the VictoriaWeb.org website (November 2012):
[PB: In a letter to her daughter [which?] in 1881, Emma Darwin (Charles Darwin's wife) mentions reading George Paget's book: