Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Julian Tolver Paget, 4th Baronet, (11 July 1921 – 25 September 2016) was a

British army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and

military historian Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians ...

who was the author of many books.

Early life

He was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and was the eldest son of General Sir Bernard Paget. He was educated at

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley or the College of St. Peter at Radley, is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (independent boarding school) for boys near the village of Radley, in Oxfordshire, in the United Kingd ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

and read medicine at Christ Church College,

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

Military career

Paget was commissioned into the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

in March 1940 and from August 1942 served with the 5th Battalion, Coldstream Guards, part of the Guards Armoured Division. He served in NW Europe during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, including in the battle for

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, in the Liberation of

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and in the attempt to reach the British 1st Airborne Division at

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

in September 1944. At the end of the War he was at

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is a town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has a footprint o ...

, northern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. His younger brother Lieutenant Tony Paget DSO served with the 1st Battalion,

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence of th ...

(the 43rd) and was killed during the Battle of the Reichswald in March 1945. Following the Second World War he served in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

with 3rd Battalion Coldstream Guards. He attended the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which ...

in 1950. He also served at

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

, in

Washington DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

and in

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

. Paget was promoted to lieutenant colonel and commanded the 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

from 1960 to 1962, taking large parties of guardsmen up Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya and Kaiser Wilhelm's Peak. He commanded the Queen's Birthday Parade in June 1962, before being posted as the head of the security secretariat at Aden. In 1967 he published his account of the fighting ''Counter-Insurgency campaigning'' in both Britain and America. When he retired from the Army in 1969, ''Last Post Aden, 1964-7'' described the campaign and withdrawal from the former British colony.

Military historian

Paget joined a Public relations consultancy on leaving the army, and settled down to write more military history. In 1971 he was appointed editor of '' The Guards Magazine'', where he worked until 1993. Works followed in rapid succession: ''The Story of the Guards'' (1976), ''The Pageantry of Britain'' (1979), and ''Wellington's Peninsula War'' (1990) a huge work that took years of research and study to complete, which was shortly followed by a history of the greatest battle, ''Hougoument: The Key to Victory at Waterloo'' (1992). He edited ''Second to None The History of the Coldstream Guards (1650-2000)'' (2000) and his final book was a biography of his father: ''The Crusading General: The Life of General Sir Bernard Paget GCB DSO MC'' (2008), commander of Home Forces solely responsible to Churchill for the defence of Britain during the dark days of 1940. He led battlefield tours specialising in the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

, the

Peninsula War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

, the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

and the Gallipoli Campaign. He was a

Gentleman Usher Gentleman Usher and Lady Usher are titles for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. For a list of office-holders from the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 up to the present day see List of Lady and Gentleman Ushers. Gen ...

to the Queen from 1971 to 1991. Paget was chief usher at the wedding of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

in 1981 and also at the wedding of the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

in 1986. He inherited the title 4th Baronet from his Uncle Sir James Paget, 3rd Baronet in 1972 and was appointed CVO in 1984. For many years he was involved with the Paget Association, who research Paget's disease, discovered by his famous ancestor James Paget. Aged 92 he was asked to a celebration at James Paget University Hospital in Great Yarmouth marking the bicentenary of James Paget's birth. The old soldier died of

septicaemia Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...

at the age of 95. He had married in 1954, an American Diana Frances, daughter of Frederick Farmer, whom he met while working in the Pentagon. They had a son and a daughter. They lived in

Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest (district), New Forest district of Hampshire, England. The town faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a Roll-on/roll-off, car ferry s ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, before Diana died in 2004. Daughter, Olivia had a distinguished career at the Foreign Office before retiring in 2016. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son Sir Henry Paget, 5th Baronet, a merchant banker with

St James's Place St James's Place is a street in the St James's district of London near Green Park. It was first developed around 1694, the historian John Strype describing it in 1720 as a "good Street ... which receiveth a fresh Air out of the Park; the House ...

, wealth management company.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paget, Sir Julian Tolver, 4th Baronet 1921 births 2016 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II British military historians British military personnel of the Palestine Emergency Coldstream Guards officers Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Military personnel from London 104 People educated at Radley College