George Thomas Paget

George Paget was typical of the boy soldiers who were able to enlist in the British Army and go on to fight in the trenches during the early part of World War I.
George was born in 1899 in Bryn, 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 the South Wales Coalfield.
In 1909 George lived at 4 Meadow Row, Bryn, near Maesteg, Glamorgan, South Wales and in 1913 aged 14, he became a coal miner. Shortly after starting work at St John's Colliery he moved to 5 River Street, Maesteg with his parents and six brothers and three sisters.
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914 and motivated by the overwhelming tide of patriotism,George enlisted in the British Army. This was fairly common amongst the teenage boys at this time. Although the Army did not allow the military use of children and endeavoured to ensure that soldiers should be aged 19 or older before they were sent to the front, many under-age boys were able to enlist and serve in the trenches. George joined the 18th (Service) Battalion (2nd Glamorgan) Welsh Regiment. The exact date of his joining is not clear, but he enlisted at Port Talbot. The battalion was raised as a ‘Bantam’ battalion in Cardiff and moved to Porthcawl in January 1915, which was not far from his home in Maesteg.
Much of the fact and reason for the vast numbers of boys who tried and succeeded in joining the ranks of the British Army is brought forward by Richard van Emden in his book Boy Soldiers of the Great War
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 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, 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. Two of these died in captivity, one of whom, was George. As with most graves where the Army believed the soldier not to have been of full age, there is no age marked on the gravestone. (see photograph above) The graves are acknowledged as a Commonwealth Military burial site, and are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

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