Paris was commissioned a lieutenant in the Royal Marine Artillery on 1 September 1879, promoted to captain on 7 May 1890,[1] and to major on 18 August 1898.

[4] Following the end of the war, in late May 1902, he continued on special service in South Africa, but he returned to the United Kingdom on the SS Syria two months later, arriving in Southampton in early September 1902.

[9] In December 1913 he was appointed an inspector of recruiting[10] and, in July 1914, after having served six years continuously as a lieutenant colonel, he was placed on supplementary half-pay.

[11] In September 1914, just a few weeks after the British entry into World War I, Paris was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general and placed in command of the Royal Marine Brigade.

[7] He had a son, Archibald Paris, who served in the British Army, briefly commanding the Indian 11th Division during the Battle of Malaya.