William was born in Strood in 1894. He lived at 41 Cross Street with his mother Ellen Payne, father Henry George Payne, four brothers and three sisters. In the 1911 Census, 17 year old William was registered as an assistant pastry cook. Between the 1911 census and the date of sign up army registration, William’s family had moved to 12 Bowes Road.
William served as a private for the London Regiment (20th Battalion) of the Royal Fusiliers and his regiment number was G/53254
William was killed in action on 16th April 1917 when he was 24.
William is buried in France Heniel-Crosilles Road cemetery.
Sources
1901 Census: Class: RG13; Piece: 721; Folio: 80; Page: 18
Ancestry.com. 1901 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
1911 Census: Class: RG14; Piece: 3869; Schedule Number: 361
Ancestry.com. 1911 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
Military-Genealogy.com, comp. UK, Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.
Original data: British and Irish Military Databases. The Naval and Military Press Ltd.
Research
Samantha Stevens, 2016