George Henry Tatham Paton Explained

George Henry Tatham Paton
Birth Date:	3 October 1895
Death Date:	1 December 1917 (aged 22)
Birth Place:	Innellan, Argyllshire
Death Place:	Gonnelieu, France
Placeofburial:	Metz-en-Couture Communal Cemetery, British Extension
Serviceyears:	September 1914 – December 1917
Branch:	British Army
Unit:	2/17th Bn London Regiment Grenadier Guards
Battles:	World War I
Awards:	Victoria Cross Military Cross

George Henry Tatham Paton VC MC (3 October 1895 – 1 December 1917) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Paton was the first Grenadier Guards officer to win the VC since the Crimean War.^[1]

Early life

He was born to George William Paton who was Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Messrs Bryant and May Ltd. He was educated at Rottingdean School, then, from September 1909 to April 1914 at Clifton College Bristol.

Military career

During his time as a student, Paton had participated in the Officer Training Corps and obtained a Certificate "A" military proficiency award. He was commissioned in his local Territorial Force unit on 1 October 1914. He continued to serve with 2/17th Battalion London Regiment in the UK throughout 1915. At the end of 1915 he applied for a Special Reserve commission in the Grenadier Guards. This was accepted, and he was appointed on 28 January 1916. He was posted to the Western Front and disembarked on 8 July 1916. His exploits at the Battle of Pilckem Ridge on 31 July 1917 resulted in being awarded the Military Cross.^[2]

Paton was 22 years old, and an acting captain in the 4th Battalion, Grenadier Guards, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

The medal

His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Guards Museum within Guards Regimental Headquarters (Grenadier Guards RHQ) at Wellington Barracks, London.^[3]

Further reading

• Buzzell, Nora (1997). The Register of the Victoria Cross.
• Harvey, David (1999). Monuments to Courage.
• Ross, Graham (1995). Scotland's Forgotten Valour.
• Book: Gliddon, Gerald. VCs of the First World War

  Cambrai 1917

  . 2004. 2012. The History Press. 978-0-75-247668-1.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Victoria Cross Research Page - P.
2. Web site: Awarded the Military Cross . medal citation . Imperial War Museums.
3. Web site: Acting Captain George Henry Tatham Paton VC, MC . Hero of the Month by Lord Ashcroft . 6 February 2018 . I do not own Paton’s medal group amongst my 200-plus collection of VCs and instead its home is in the Guards Museum, Wellington Barracks, central London..