Unless shown below all the information known about Ernest came from his late aunt Florence Sarah Blyth nee Payne (the author of this tribute’s Mother-in-Law).

From the 1901 Census, Ernest was born in West Ham District, East London in 1893 and at that time was living with his parents (Albert Edward Payne and Emily nee Byatt) and siblings in Canning Town, East London. He was the youngest of the six known children born to his parents. 

By the time of the 1911 census Ernest was shown as an 18 year old crane driver on the railway living with his widowed mother and one elder brother in the same district as above.

Nothing more is known about Ernest at this time, the photograph displayed of him being among the collection of the above mentioned late aunt who for some unknown reason always knew him as Donald. During her lifetime she identified this as being Ernest’s picture, perhaps proven it is him by his cap badge, albeit rather blurred, of the Royal Berkshire Regiment.

[Pte Ernest George Payne is listed by CWGC to have died 30th December 1916, he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, Somme.

He is incorrectly listed as 18204 Pte 'Edward' G.Payne in medal records. From these he is stated to have arrived in France with his battalion on 16/12/1915 and was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War and Victory Medals.

Taken from the 8th Bn. Royal Berkshire War Diary:

25/12/1916 - Bazentin le Petit - Battalion moved off to relieve 1st Black Watch in Front Line trenches. Since our last tour in the front line, the weather had been continuously bad and it was found that the trenches were even in a worse state than previously. It had become quite impossible to use the communication trenches because of the mud and the only communication possible was by overland routes of trench boards. During the day there was no communication between the front and support lines.

28/12/1916 - Front Line - Battalion was relieved by 1st Camerons and on relief, went back into Support in Flers Line.

30/12/1916 - Flers Line - Battalion was relieved by a Battalion of 149th Brigade, 50th Division and on relief came back to Camp No.4 at Bazentin-le-Petit.

It would likely have been this day, back at camp, that the battalion would have compiled its list of casualties from this tour of the trenches, including Pte Ernest George Payne.

The war diary also contains a detailed map of the battalion's positions in these days

Source: WO 95/1265/1 - War diary, 8th Royal Berkshire Regt].