Leslie Payne (1892-1975) Chapter 11 - Winnipeg & Back to England
Charles
Leslie Lionel Payne
(1892-1975)
Chapter 11: Winnipeg
& Back to England
After Lesley's discharge in
Winnipeg on 17th February 1919, he continued drawing pay from the army
for six months, presumably as did all returned soldiers. At the time
of his discharge, he gave as his intended place of residence: "c/o
D. Fergus, 596 Gertrude Avenue, Winnipeg", but two weeks later his
medals were sent to him at a different address, "289 Spence Street,
Winnipeg". He went back to work for Timothy Eaton's, as is evidenced
by the Henderson Directory entry for 1920 (Courtesy of Lynn Anderson),
which shows him at the same address. The owner of the house at this
address is shown as "Ball, Fredk. painter h. 289 Spruce" - was this
a mistake for "Spence", perhaps?
This
photo, dated on the reverse "Oct 4th 1919", shows Leslie Payne standing
(at left) with three others in front of a building which appears to have
some sort of closed in verandah. Three of them are standing on some
type of wooden boardwalk, slightly above the level of the lawn. There
also appears to be a man, wearing a hat, sleeping or reading on the verandah.
The couple at the right are identifiable from other annotated photographs
(see below) as Mr & Mrs Stewart & Laura Morris, but I have
not identified the lady on Leslie's left. It is difficult to see
her face anyway, due to the shade cast by her hat. All are dressed
fairly smartly: the ladies are carrying corsages, and Leslie is holding
a pair of gloves in his right hand. The 4th October 1919 was a Saturday
and the shadows are long. Had they just been to a wedding?
Could it, in fact, have been the Morris's wedding? And had Leslie
been driving? Was the building perhaps a boarding house of some sort?
The other two photographs showing the Morrises
are fortunately also annotated. The first (at left) is signed on
the reverse, "Yours sincerely/Laura & Stewart", while the second
(at right) has, in the same handwriting, "Mr. & Mrs. Morris/261
Polson Ave/Winnipeg/Canada". The fact that the country was indicated
suggests to me that they may have been sent to Leslie by the Morrises after
he had returned to England. The building does not appear to be the
same one as pictured in the previous photo of the Morrises, although it
could, of course, just a different side of the house. There does
appear to be a similar "bordwalk" present over the lawn, but they were
probably common all over Winnipeg at this time. Who were the Morrises,
and how did Leslie know them? Perhaps he also worked at Eaton's?
This
photograph of Leslie Payne (at left) is annotated "Taken Sunday 18.4.20
Outside C.P.R. Depot Winnipeg Manitoba Canada". Leslie is holding
in his arms Leslie Willox, the son of his fellow Machine-Gunner "Bud"
Willox. Les & Bud remained good friends for long after the
war, and the former would, in due course, name his own son "Bud".
From contemporary photographs of the Winnipeg Railway Station, it seems
likely to me that the building shown in the background could well be the
hotel attached to the CPR Depot. If the actual spot that this photograph
was taken could be located, perhaps we could get an idea of the time of
day that it was from the length and direction of the shadows?
The next pair of photographs were almost certainly
taken together on the same occasion, as the clothes worn by common participants
are exactly the same. The first (below left) shows three couples,
wearing bathing suits, sitting (and perhaps singing - they certainly appear
very jolly) on a large boulder, situated on a very rocky beach. Leslie
Payne is at second from left. The second (below right) shows two
of these same couples sitting on a sandy beach (this time Les is at the
left). In the background of both shots is what could be either the
sea or a large lake.
I have persuaded myself that these - unfortunately unannotated - photographs
must have been taken during the period that Leslie Payne lived in Winnipeg
between 1919 and 1921. Is it possible that they were taken during
an excursion to the shores of either Lake Winnipeg or Lake Manitoba.
The large boulder in the left hand photo appears, to both my father and
I (amateur and professional geologists, respectively), to be a glacial
erratic. For this reason, it doesn't seem likely that the photo could
have been taken in England.
There
is a third photograph showing two of these friends, as well as my grandfather
and another unindentified man (at left). They are seated on a rustic
looking bench fashioned from saplings. Leslie is at the right, leaning
forwards slightly; next are the couple who appeared in both the Boulder
and Beach photos. The bench is located against the wall of what appears
to be a large canvas tent, situated in a wood. Was it some sort of
camp? Where were these three photos taken, and who are the other
people (three male and three female) with Leslie Payne. Was the man
common to all three a friend from the WW1 Machine Gun Corps, perhaps, and
the lady next to him, who also appears in all three, his wife or girlfriend?
On the 1st May 1921 Leslie's younger brother
Harold Victor Payne, nicknamed "Rab", died at the family home in Derby,
England. A month later, Leslie was travelling alone on the train
for Montreal en route for Liverpool and Derby. He abandoned Timothy
Eaton in order to be a comfort for his mother, of whom he was very fond.
The surviving CPR railway ticket (see left), date stamped on the reverse
by the purchasing agent, McGuinness (see right), shows his departure from
Winnipeg on the 31st May. He never returned to Canada, and presumably
never say "P" again, although he did see his old friend Bud Willox in Europe
on at least two subsequent occasions.
In October 1921 Leslie received a book of
verse entitled "The Present Joys" from someone who lived at 43 Fawcett
Avenue, Winnipeg, and signed themselves "P", "fulfilling a promise made
two years earlier". It seems likely that Les had known "P" pretty
well in Winnipeg prior to his departure, and that "P" was a female.
Henderson's Winnipeg Directory for 1921 shows a James H Bowman,
"pipe ftr CPR", living at this address (by kind courtesy of Lynn Anderson).
Who was "P"? It would be nice to know what happened to her!
This
photo, dated on the reverse "Oct 4th 1919", shows Leslie Payne standing
(at left) with three others in front of a building which appears to have
some sort of closed in verandah. Three of them are standing on some
type of wooden boardwalk, slightly above the level of the lawn. There
also appears to be a man, wearing a hat, sleeping or reading on the verandah.
The couple at the right are identifiable from other annotated photographs
(see below) as Mr & Mrs Stewart & Laura Morris, but I have
not identified the lady on Leslie's left. It is difficult to see
her face anyway, due to the shade cast by her hat. All are dressed
fairly smartly: the ladies are carrying corsages, and Leslie is holding
a pair of gloves in his right hand. The 4th October 1919 was a Saturday
and the shadows are long. Had they just been to a wedding?
Could it, in fact, have been the Morris's wedding? And had Leslie
been driving? Was the building perhaps a boarding house of some sort?
The other two photographs showing the Morrises
are fortunately also annotated. The first (at left) is signed on
the reverse, "Yours sincerely/Laura & Stewart", while the second
(at right) has, in the same handwriting, "Mr. & Mrs. Morris/261
Polson Ave/Winnipeg/Canada". The fact that the country was indicated
suggests to me that they may have been sent to Leslie by the Morrises after
he had returned to England. The building does not appear to be the
same one as pictured in the previous photo of the Morrises, although it
could, of course, just a different side of the house. There does
appear to be a similar "bordwalk" present over the lawn, but they were
probably common all over Winnipeg at this time. Who were the Morrises,
and how did Leslie know them? Perhaps he also worked at Eaton's?
This
photograph of Leslie Payne (at left) is annotated "Taken Sunday 18.4.20
Outside C.P.R. Depot Winnipeg Manitoba Canada". Leslie is holding
in his arms Leslie Willox, the son of his fellow Machine-Gunner "Bud"
Willox. Les & Bud remained good friends for long after the
war, and the former would, in due course, name his own son "Bud".
From contemporary photographs of the Winnipeg Railway Station, it seems
likely to me that the building shown in the background could well be the
hotel attached to the CPR Depot. If the actual spot that this photograph
was taken could be located, perhaps we could get an idea of the time of
day that it was from the length and direction of the shadows?
There
is a third photograph showing two of these friends, as well as my grandfather
and another unindentified man (at left). They are seated on a rustic
looking bench fashioned from saplings. Leslie is at the right, leaning
forwards slightly; next are the couple who appeared in both the Boulder
and Beach photos. The bench is located against the wall of what appears
to be a large canvas tent, situated in a wood. Was it some sort of
camp? Where were these three photos taken, and who are the other
people (three male and three female) with Leslie Payne. Was the man
common to all three a friend from the WW1 Machine Gun Corps, perhaps, and
the lady next to him, who also appears in all three, his wife or girlfriend?
On the 1st May 1921 Leslie's younger brother
Harold Victor Payne, nicknamed "Rab", died at the family home in Derby,
England. A month later, Leslie was travelling alone on the train
for Montreal en route for Liverpool and Derby. He abandoned Timothy
Eaton in order to be a comfort for his mother, of whom he was very fond.
The surviving CPR railway ticket (see left), date stamped on the reverse
by the purchasing agent, McGuinness (see right), shows his departure from
Winnipeg on the 31st May. He never returned to Canada, and presumably
never say "P" again, although he did see his old friend Bud Willox in Europe
on at least two subsequent occasions.