Tony Paget

Tony Paget DSO, Croix de Guerre (5 November 1924 - 5 March 1945) was an officer of the British Army who was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for conspicuous gallantry whilst serving with the 1st Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (Previously the 43rd (Monmouthshire) Regiment of Foot) in the Battle of the Reichswald in February-March 1945 during World War II.

Anthony Francis Macleod Paget was born in Kensington, London, the younger son of General Sir Bernard Charles Paget. He was educated at Radley College, Radley, Oxfordshire. He commenced military training with the Welsh Guards and OCTU. In July 1943, Paget was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant into the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and was posted to the 1st Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (the 43rd), attached to the 71st Infantry Brigade, 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division. He served in the North-West Europe Campaign of 1944-1945 in the Second World War.

In July 1944 Paget was awarded the Croix de Guerre and received a Mention in Despatches for his role in the battle of Cahier during the battle for Caen: a vital objective of the Allies during the Normandy Campaign. He was later wounded in France and evacuated to England. He returned to his battalion in December 1944.

By now promoted to lieutenant, Paget died on 5 March 1945 from wounds received near Weeze, Germany, during the action for which he was awarded the DSO for gallantry, in the Battle of the Reichswald. Paget is buried in Mook War Cemetery, Limburg, the Netherlands. There is a memorial plaque commemorating his life in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.

Lieutenant Tony Paget DSO, Croix de Guerre died on 5 March 1945, at the age of just 21 years.^[1]

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