Sir Arthur Henry Fitzroy Paget, GCB, GCVO, PC (Ire) (1 March 1851 – 8 December 1928) was a British army general who served as Commander-in-Chief, Ireland, where he was partly responsible for the Curragh Incident.

He was promoted lieutenant and captain on 29 July 1872 and was selected for special service on Sir Garnet Wolseley's Asante expedition in West Africa in December 1873, being attached to William Butler's flanking column.

[3][4][1] Paget was promoted to the staff, and in the later stages of the war was put in command of an independent column hunting Boer commandos.

Paget gave what Ian Beckett describes as a "blustering speech" to his whole assembled force in November 1900, refusing their request.

[1] Paget wrote to Sir John French praising his leadership in South Africa, and claiming that respect for him had been his reason for remaining in the Army.

[1] In 1911, when he "commanded" one of the forces on the Annual Manoeuvres, he did not actually attend, and his BGGS (Brigadier-General, chief of Staff) Aylmer Haldane had to brief him on the train from London to Salisbury so that he could participate in the discussion afterwards.

[12] With Irish Home Rule due to become law in 1914, the Cabinet were beginning to contemplate some kind of military action against the Ulster Volunteers who wanted no part of it.

[13] The following spring, Paget was sent a letter by the secretary of the Army Council warning that "evil-disposed persons" might attempt to seize weapons.

Paget reported that he was drawing up plans to protect arms depots as ordered, but warning that large-scale troop movements would exacerbate the situation.

[14] Large scale military operations were clearly discussed at the meeting on 18 March, although most participants insisted that these were only precautionary measures.

[15] Another, hurried, meeting was held on the night of 19 March after Sir Edward Carson's dramatic departure from the Commons, amid rumours that he intended to declare a provisional government upon reaching Belfast.

[1] At that meeting Seely declared that the government was pressing ahead with Home Rule and had no intention of allowing civil war to break out, suggesting that the Ulster Volunteers were to be crushed if they attempted to start one.

In effectively offering his officers an ultimatum, Paget was acting foolishly, as the majority would probably have obeyed if simply ordered north.

Gough did not attend the second meeting in the afternoon, at which Paget confirmed that the purpose of the move was to overawe Ulster rather than fight, but at which he claimed that the orders had the King's personal sanction.

On the morning of Saturday 21 March Fergusson toured units, assuring them of his own unionist sympathies but urging them to do their duty – this action had a good effect.

[17] The elderly Field-Marshal Roberts later learned from an interview with Seely (21 March) that Paget had been acting without authority in talking of "active operations" and in giving officers a chance to discuss hypothetical orders and attempt to resign.

[20] Despite being fit for service, on the outbreak of war Paget was relegated to command of First Army of Central Force, for defence against invasion.

[1] Edmonds, who was a source of gossipy and exaggerated stories in old age, later claimed that Paget had been the best candidate for III Corps but that French passed him over having had a row with him on the Army Manoeuvres of 1913.

[21] Kitchener was concerned at the limited information he was receiving from Major General John Hanbury-Williams, his representative at the Russian High Command STAVKA (at this stage it was still hoped that Russia would defeat the Central Powers in Poland and Galicia and march on Berlin).

[1] From April 1916 to February 1918 he commanded Southern Army, charged with the defence of South-East England, reporting to Viscount French who was by then Commander-in-Chief of Home Forces.

He spent much of the remainder of his life at Cannes, where he died at the Villa Valhalla, Chemin de Benefiat, on 8 December 1928, and was buried in Le Grand Jas cemetery.